SPECIAL EDUCATION AND CLASSROOM TEACHERS’ VIEWS OF A GAME DESIGNED ON THE MOTION FEATURES OF BEINGS

Abstract

Play is considered to be one of the most important aspects of a child's life, and it is thought to have a tremendous impact on the child's future life. Games, which play a vital role in a child's life, are an unavoidable aspect of that existence. It is unimaginable that games, which are so crucial to a child's development, are not included in his or her education. Games have a significant role in the teaching activities offered to elementary school students and children with slight mental difficulties. In this study, it is aimed to determine the opinions of the classroom teachers working in elementary schools and special education teachers working in special education classes opened for the mildly mentally retarded about educational games and the Name the Motion game. The study was conducted using the phenomenology method, which is a type of qualitative research. The sample group of the research consisted of a total of 14 teachers, seven special education and seven classroom teachers, who worked in the Central district of Amasya during the academic year 2020-2021. Teachers were interviewed in semi-structured interviews to collect data. The data were analyzed using content analysis and displayed with graphics and models, as well as one-to-one expressions, using the NVivo 11 program. In the study, it was concluded that the teachers had positive thoughts about the use of educational games in teaching, that the designed game was appreciated, that they met the relevant achievement and that they wanted to apply it to their students.