The development of food mission: a nutritionbased card game for grade 6 students

Game-based learning is gaining popularity in elementary schools in Thailand. The use of games to teach nutrition education in elementary schools in Thailand is relatively rare. The teaching of nutrition education in the elementary school classrooms in Thailand is predominantly book-based. It can be dry and boring. Therefore, an educational card game called Food Mission is developed to teach elementary school students basic nutrition concepts. This paper explores the perceptions of educational experts, postgraduate students, an elementary science teacher and Grade 6students’ responses towards Food Mission educational card game in teaching nutrition education in the classroom. The research participants were two educational experts, eleven postgraduate students, one elementary science teacher and 45 Grade 6 students from a private school in Samut Sakorn Province, Thailand. A pilot study was carried out with seven elementary school students in a home setting prior to the classroom implementation to test the game playability. Interview data was transcribed verbatim. Participants test played the Food Mission card game and found that the educational card game was engaging and fun to play. Elementary school students enjoyed the card game and acquired new vocabulary and basic knowledge about nutrition. This paper discusses the genesis of Food Mission card game and provides guidelines for further modifications of the card game to help elementary students learn basic nutrition concepts