Enhancing Student Engagement in Infant Development Education

Investigators at Silpakorn University have shed new light on improving teaching methods in infant development education. The research, focusing on psychology students, suggests that traditional lecture-based methods can be limiting. To address this, a team of researchers designed and implemented a series of board games tailored to learning objectives associated with infant developmental psychology. The study's findings indicate that this innovative approach significantly enhances students' understanding and knowledge retention, leading to better application of complex concepts in real-classroom settings.

Key Takeaways:

• The study examined the effectiveness of board games in enhancing understanding of infant development and surveillance among psychology students.
• A mixed-method approach using a randomized matched control group design and qualitative exploration was applied to the study.
• The results revealed that the board games significantly enhanced students' understanding, with them achieving significantly higher understanding scores in the posttest and follow-up phases.
• The qualitative findings complemented and reinforced the quantitative results, offering deeper insights into the learning experiences and valuable suggestions for improving the design and rules of the games.
• The study involved 60 students, with 30 in each group (intervention and conventional learning), and consisted of three data collection phases.
• A 2 x 3 mixed-design Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with content analysis of the journal texts was performed.
• The study concluded that educators can enhance student engagement, knowledge retention, and real-classroom application by tailoring the board games to learning objectives.

Statistics:

• 60 students participated in the study, with 30 in each group (intervention and conventional learning).
• Three data collection phases were conducted.
• The results revealed a significant enhancement of students' understanding, with a 2 x 3 mixed-design Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showing a significant interaction effect for the treatments and test phases.
• A 2 x 3 mixed-design Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed with content analysis of the journal texts.

Sources:

• "Learning Infant Development and Surveillance Through a Series of Board Games Designed for Psychology Students." Education Sciences, vol. 15, no. 4, 2025, pp. 457, doi: 10.3390/educsci15040457.
• Faculty of Education, Silpakorn University.
• Health & Medicine Week, May 16, 2025.
• NewsRx.