THE STUDY OF BOARD GAMES ON NUMERACY SKILLS IN STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS FOR LOWER SECONDARY STUDENTS

Abstract

          The purposes of this study were: (1) to examine the effects of using board game–based instructional media on the computational thinking skills of lower secondary school students with intellectual disabilities at Srinakharinwirot University Demonstration School, Prasarnmit (Secondary Division) and (2) to compare the computational thinking skills of students with intellectual disabilities at the lower secondary level before and after the implementation of the board game instructional media. This study employed an experimental research design, specifically a one-group pretest–posttest design. The research sample consisted of five lower secondary school students with intellectual disabilities, selected through purposive sampling. The research instruments included: (1) board game–based instructional media developed by the researcher to enhance computational thinking skills; and (2) a computational thinking skills test administered before and after the use of the board game instructional media. Data were analyzed using basic descriptive statistics, including mean and standard deviation, as well as a t-test for comparing pretest and posttest scores. This study employed an experimental research design, specifically a one-group pretest–posttest design. The sample consisted of five lower secondary students with intellectual disabilities, selected through purposive sampling. The research instruments included (1) a board game designed by the researcher to enhance computational thinking skills, and (2) a computational thinking skill test administered before and after the board game intervention. Data were analyzed using basic statistics: mean, standard deviation, and t-test.

         The research findings revealed that before using the board game, students had an average computational thinking score of 7.6, which was at a fair level. After the intervention, the average score increased to 13.6, which was at a good level. The posttest scores were significantly higher than the pretest scores at the .05 level of significance, indicating that the use of board game-based instructional media effectively improved the students’ computational thinking skills. In conclusion, the use of board game-based instructional media enhanced students’ fundamental mathematical skills essential for daily life, promoted logical thinking, problem-solving, and social interaction, and enabled them to apply their knowledge meaningfully in real-life situations.