Efeito da utilização de jogos como intervenção lúdica no rendimento escolar: uma revisão integrativa

Abstract

A previous survey found that there are a considerable number of publications reporting the use of games as an effective method in educational context. However, the data that justify pedagogical practices need to be organized. The objectives of the present study were to perform an integrative review, which was divided into two parts: 1) systematic review of the literature on empirical research that investigated the effects of game play as a strategy for playful intervention in school performance and 2) discussion of as two behavioral sciences (i.e., Behavior Analysis and Ethology) with distinct, but complementary explanatory models may contribute to educational planning based on play behavior. In the systematic review we included empirical articles and/or experience/case reports describing the use of games as an intervention method for teaching formal school content; which were published in indexed journals; that mentioned or contained the previously defined keywords; and were published in English or Portuguese from January 2006 to December 2016. Two judges were responsible for collecting data and evaluating the relevance of articles in relation to inclusion criteria. Altogether, 141 articles were found, but only 19 were considered adequate to the criteria. It was found that children were the main participants; that electronic games were the most used; that mathematics was the discipline that concentrates the greatest number of studies; and that the use of games had the effect of improving students' academic performance. These results shed light on three important issues: 1) the need to include playful events in the context of teaching, planning and programming of learning making it meaningful for the student and the teacher; 2) to emphasize the importance of education as part of the scientific interests and, especially, of the behavioral sciences, since this way there will be collection and evaluation of evidences that support pedagogical methods and decisions; and 3) the integration between the contributions of Behavior Analysis and Ethology can help not only to understand the effect of games on learning but also to collaborate in alternative educational.