Investigating the effectiveness of computer games on problem-solving skills and thinking training

Determining the effectiveness of computer games on problem-solving skills and thinking training in students

This study is a quasi-experimental, two-group, double-blind, randomized trial conducted on 30 sixth-grade students in Baghmalek County, 15 in each group. The sample allocation is done by simple randomization using the RAND function in Excel; first, each student receives an identification code and is sorted by a random number, then they are divided into two groups of 15: experimental and control.

This research will use a field experimental research method and an extensive pre-test and post-test design. The research will be conducted in a second-grade elementary school. All participants and clinical caregivers and evaluators who interpret the data will be kept confidential and all information will be kept anonymous.

Inclusion Criteria Being between 11 and 12 years of age. Being enrolled in the sixth grade of elementary school. Students and their parents being interested in participating in the study and providing informed consent. Exclusion Criteria Having a physical illness that could interfere with the research process. Use of psychiatric medications.

Intervention group: Computer game-based training, based on a researcher-made protocol, is implemented in groups in 8 90-minute sessions, one session per week. The sessions include intellectual, strategic, adventure, simulation, and content creation games and are designed to strengthen problem-solving skills, analytical thinking, planning, decision-making, creativity, and emotion control. Control group: They do not receive any intervention during the research.

Problem-solving skills; thinking.

In this study, a simple randomization method is used to assign participants to two experimental and control groups. The randomization unit in this study is sixth grade students in Baghmalek County who are eligible to enter the study. First, a complete list of volunteer students who have been selected based on the study entry criteria is prepared. Then, each student is assigned a unique numerical identification code. These codes are entered into the Random Number Generator software and a random number is generated for each student. After generating these numbers, the students are sorted in ascending order based on the value of the random number. Then, the individuals are assigned to two groups; sequentially, the first 15 people on the list are assigned to the experimental group and the next 15 people are assigned to the control group. The experimental group participates in computer game-based training sessions, and the control group will not receive any intervention during the research. With this method, the order of entry into the study and the researcher's knowledge of the students will have no role in determining the group. To conceal allocation, the person responsible for entering the data and carrying out the randomization process in the software will be independent of the intervention administrator and the study evaluators and will not have the possibility of knowing the implementation process of the training or changes in the allocation of students. Also, the identification codes of the students are kept confidential and separate from their other personal information. Therefore, it will not be possible to predict the assigned group for each student before the randomization process is carried out.

In order to control bias and improve the internal validity of the study, this study was designed with a double-blind protocol; in this way, the outcome evaluator and data analyst will be kept unaware of the allocation of sixth-grade students in Baghmalek County to the experimental and control groups. In this process, the outcome evaluator will collect data related to problem-solving and thinking skills in all stages of the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up, without knowing the students' assigned group, in order to prevent bias in the assessment; also, all raw data with anonymous codes, such as Group 1 and Group 2, will be provided to the statistical analyst, and the true nature of the groups will not be revealed until the end of the data analysis process. All stages of assigning students to the experimental and control groups will be carried out by an individual independent of the computer game-based education provider and the research evaluators, and the decoding of the assignment codes will only be done after the final completion of the statistical analyses.

Participant data is completely confidential and I do not intend to publish it.