Computer didactic game in science lessons for elementary school students in grades 1 to 5

Activity, diversity, and dynamism are just some of the descriptors that describe Science lessons. In Science lessons, it is important that the teacher inspires students, introduces them to the subject itself with a variety of methods in which students participate, learn a lot and deepen their knowledge. The teacher must choose the teaching methods carefully and use them at the appropriate time and with the appropriate learning topics. The method of didactic game and information and communication technology (hereinafter ICT) provide a wide range of possibilities for the introduction of Science content in teaching. For the purposes of the master's thesis, we created a computer didactic game based on the topic Human, which appears in the curricula of Environmental studies and in Science and Technology from the first to the fifth grade of elementary school. The purpose of the research was to determine how students and teachers accept the created computer didactic game, what is the progress in knowledge after playing the didactic game, to what extent students achieve Science learning objectives in biology and physics, how students evaluate the deepening of knowledge with the developed didactic game and what didactic game adaptations teachers point out. We were also interested in the experience of teachers and students with computer didactic games and how much they used them in distance teaching. The study involved 5 classes, 6 students and 1 teacher from each class, a total of 30 students and 5 teachers from the selected elementary school. Research data were obtained through knowledge tests (pre- and posttest), semi-structured interviews and participatory observation. Before we gave the students a didactic game to play, we conducted a pre-test, which provided information about the prior knowledge of students. After the implementation of the didactic game, we gave the students a post-test, which was identical to the pre-test, so that we could determine the progress in knowledge. After the test, we conducted a short semi-structured interview with the students in order to obtain information about the students' opinions and their experiences with computer didactic games. The purpose of the semi-structured interview with the teachers was to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the game and their opinion about it, the teacher's work with ICT in school and distance teaching, and suggestions for adaptations and improvements of the didactic game. Our results show that our computer didactic game is professional, aesthetic and suitable for deepening knowledge in the topic Human. The didactic game was well received and evaluated by the students and the teachers. There was also an improvement in the students' knowledge after the didactic game, as the average post-test results were better than the pre-test results. The teachers stated that they rarely use computer didactic games in class and in distance teaching. The latter also depends on the competence of teachers in the use of ICT devices. The computer didactic game Human is valued as suitable for distance teaching. Teachers said they would reduce the amount of text in the game, add voiceover, sort questions by difficulty, and add the option to choose a typeface (uppercase or lowercase). The results of the master's thesis will serve as an encouragement for teachers to use more computer didactic games for various topics in Science lessons as well as in other subjects, as they motivate students, encourage their activity and the acquisition of various competencies. The developed computer didactic game was updated and supplemented and is available to teachers so that they can use it in their classes. In this way, they will be able to save time and perhaps using our computer didactic game will encourage them to create a similar didactic game on a new topic on their own