Gamification in Rural Education

Giving Voice to Science Teachers in Rural Schools

Abstract

The contemporary world needs to be surrounded by digital technologies, which has caused concerns in pedagogical practice in the classroom. In this context, the use of active methodologies, such as gamification, emerges as an alternative to motivate and engage students and teachers in the teaching and learning process. Therefore, this study seeks to identify teachers' conceptions about the use of gamification and its implications for the teaching and learning process in science education in the context of Rural Education, taking into account the challenges related to training and specific school work in this environment. It is characterized by a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive approach. For data collection, questionnaires and interviews were applied to four science teachers working in two rural schools, located in the city of Santanópolis/BA. In the survey of the teachers' profile, we noticed that all participating teachers have already used gamification activities, even in other disciplines. Most of the participants do not have a degree in Science, only one teacher has a degree in Biological Sciences. Most of them reported that they were familiar with this methodology, but did not feel qualified to apply it frequently. Furthermore, it was possible to note the lack of specific ongoing training for rural schools, which compromises the quality of teaching and makes it difficult to implement methodologies such as gamification. Thus, it is understood that, in order to promote education using active methodologies, such as gamification, in rural areas, it is essential to invest in critical and contextualized training for teachers, technological equipment, quality internet, as well as creating incentive policies to attract qualified professionals to these schools.