The design of a board game-based experiential learning intervention to enhance climate change knowledge retention among high school students

Abstract

Background: Although game-based learning (GBL) is effective in STEM, its use in climate change education is still limited. This is critical because current educational efforts for younger generations often emphasize transient, non-experiential approaches, leaving them unaware of how unsustainable practices reinforce climate change factors. Purpose: We address this gap by developing a board game based on experiential learning theory (ELT) that simulates key climate change factors and compares its efficacy to traditional lectures. Method: We employed a mixed-methods approach: focus group interviews with 16 science teachers and a three-week learning assessment study with 32 high school students divided equally into GBL and lecture-based groups. Findings: Teachers confirmed the game's value in teaching climate causes and effects while reporting a lack of practical solution-based learning in the standard curriculum. The GBL group achieved 33% higher knowledge retention, participated in solution debates during 92% of sessions (compared to 12% in lectures), and exhibited iterative strategy changes, demonstrating ELT's ‘active experimentation’ phase. The game's mechanics, such as cause-effect cards and solution coins, effectively translated abstract concepts into tangible understanding. Implications: ELT-integrated GBL significantly outperforms lectures in retention and engagement, offering a viable model for effective climate change education in resource-constrained contexts.