EDUCATIONAL VIDEO GAMES TO STRENGTHEN HEALTHY NUTRITION HABITS IN CHILEAN PRIMARY EDUCATION STUDENTS

Various studies have shown that the visual nature of some technologies, particularly animations, simulations and mobile imagery, involves more students and reinforces the understanding of concepts. Video games offer the possibility to learn and understand complex real-world concepts in an interactive way without losing the connection between abstract ideas and real-world problems in which they can be used to solve problems by organizing meaningful learning experiences both within of the classroom as outside of the classroom. In particular, in science there are several specific software that allow to use the technologies most closely related to developing concepts and skills in this area. In this context it was developed an educational intervention that focuses in using an interactive videogame to strengthen healthy nutrition habits in primary education students in Chile and to observe the influence in their anxiety levels.

This quantitative research was developed through an intervention during the second semester of 2016 at the end of the academic year in a semipublic school in Chile. Forty seven 3th graders were randomly assigned to either the ‘‘Alien Health’’ videogame or a treated control condition. All students participated in a whole regular class the contents of the natural sciences unit during three weeks to achieve the following learning objectives: Identifying healthy foods that contribute to the body's nutrition, Recognizing hygiene habits for food handling and Applying knowledge of the food pyramid, its food groups and contributions, according to the national curriculum and program studies. One month later, the experimental group interacted with the videogame and experienced the full game narrative of feeding the Alien and automated feedback on the quality of performed exercises. Two instruments of data collection were applied. A food habits test was applied as a pre-test and post-test, and these results were related with the anxiety levels in the students, through the Beck Anxiety Inventory.

Statistical analysis evince that the experimental group obtained significant learning gains on the immediate nutrition knowledge than the control group. Results also reveals that the student’s level of anxiety are no related with the nutrition habit test results.

Main conclusions regarding to the pedagogical aspects reflect the positive effect that the videogame uses had in knowledge retention. It strongly suggest that the game narrative may have helped to consolidate content memory. No technological difficulties were identified during the development of the play activities, connectivity and equipment were adequate to the intervention requirements. Future works in this field will test this videogame in other technological formats like cellphones and iPad and to increase the use of this technology by each student.