Review of papers on the use of digital games for life sciences teaching in primary and secondary education

Abstract

• Educational innovations supported by digital games are proliferating in primary and secondary classrooms, generating research on their effects upon learning outcomes. This review analyzes 27 experiences in the field of life sciences education, identifying the experimental design, traits of the control group, results achieved and the role of the teacher as relevant factors to assess their effectiveness. Most research highlights the increase in student motivation; however, only a few of them show significant achievements in scientific learning. The didactic integration of digital games could promote the students' involvement in socio-scientific topics and the inclusion of learners with different abilities, although more research with mixed designs is needed, so as to identify the role of the teacher and the most effective didactic intervention model for each context.