Analysis of Content Dimensions and Origin of Contexts in Digital Games for Science Teaching:

What Does the National Scientific Production Say?

Abstract

This research aims to map the national scientific production about the use of games and recreational activities in teaching, specifically analyzing digital games and how they can be used for the development of teaching and learning of scientific content. The methodology consists of carrying out, first, a horizontal mapping of works corresponding to the search for the term game published from 2020 to 2022 in Qualis A1 and A2 journals, according to CAPES classification for the 2012-2016 quadrennium, and in the last annals of events (2018 and 2021), at the national level. In addition to CAPES-qualified journals, the Revista Eletrônica Ludus Scientiae (RELuS) was also chosen because it is a specialized journal in the area. Subsequently, the vertical mapping is presented with the use of Discursive Textual Analysis (DTA) for articles that specifically focus on the application, elaboration, proposal and/or evaluation of digital games in teaching, looking for content dimensions and by context origins in the analysis corpus. As a result of the horizontal mapping, we obtained quantitative data, such as a return of 152 works focused on games, 28 of which refer to digital games, and a characterization of issues such as authorship, place and year of publication, in addition to the type of research that each work presents. For the vertical mapping, we identified both the content dimensions, explaining moments in which they can be identified, and the context sources, presented in the same way. We understand, with the research, the need for more research on digital games and the importance of using these resources for an effective process of teaching and learning science.