Enhancing Grade 11 Students’ Achievement in Plant Cell Biology through Escape Room Game-Based Learning

Abstract

The science education in the Philippines has shifted from traditional teacher-centered approach to outcome-based approach, putting learners at the core of instruction. With this shift, educators are encouraged to continue to find innovative ways to engage learners into relevant and interactive science instruction. Furthermore, the advent of technology has brought forth a new teaching strategy called Game-Based Learning (GBL), which incorporates technology and games into the delivery of instruction. This one-group quasi-experimental research attempt to test the effects of the Escape Room Game-Based Strategy on students’ achievement in plant cell biology. A total of 25 Grade 11 students from a public school in Davao Occidental, Philippines, participated in the study. Results from the students’ test items showed that the class improved from a  “satisfactory” to a “very satisfactory” level in their understanding of plant cell biology. It was found that the Escape Room strategy had a significant effect on the level of science achievement of Grade 11 students. The strategy may be applied to other science topics to assess its effectiveness. This paper also contributes to the growing literature on the effectiveness of game-based learning in teaching science in the Philippines.