Teaching genetics and evolution with cross-scale concepts: An interactive board game for secondary school students

Yu-An Lin; Ping-Han Cheng; Chon Chen Ka

doi:10.29333/ejmste/17029

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Yu-An Lin ¹ , Ping-Han Cheng ² ^* , Chon Chen Ka ¹

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¹ Graduate Institute of Science Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, TAIWAN² Department of Science Education, National Taipei University of Education, Taipei, TAIWAN^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

An educational board game, THE LIFE, was designed with the aim of enhancing students’ understanding of genetics and evolution. The game integrates key scientific concepts–including gene combinations, mutations, and natural selection–as game mechanics. The board game represents evolutionary processes on both the macro and micro scale to help students engage with these abstract concepts, improving their cognitive structures and affecting their perspectives on biological topics. The game was evaluated in junior high school students in Taiwan by comparing pre- and post-test results to measure learning outcomes. The students’ understanding of genetics and evolution was found to be significantly improved, as was their perspective regarding biological socio-scientific issues. The results indicate that board games such as THE LIFE can be effective tools in science education by providing an engaging and structured approach to learning cross-scale topics.

Keywords

board game environment
cross-scales concepts
cognitive structure
biological issues

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 21, Issue 10, 2025, Article No: em2707

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/17029

Publication date: 01 Oct 2025

Online publication date: 16 Sep 2025

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How to cite this article

APA

Lin, Y.-A., Cheng, P.-H., & Ka, C. C. (2025). Teaching genetics and evolution with cross-scale concepts: An interactive board game for secondary school students. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 21(10), em2707. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/17029

Vancouver

Lin YA, Cheng PH, Ka CC. Teaching genetics and evolution with cross-scale concepts: An interactive board game for secondary school students. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2025;21(10):em2707. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/17029

AMA

Lin YA, Cheng PH, Ka CC. Teaching genetics and evolution with cross-scale concepts: An interactive board game for secondary school students. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2025;21(10), em2707. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/17029

Chicago

Lin, Yu-An, Ping-Han Cheng, and Chon Chen Ka. "Teaching genetics and evolution with cross-scale concepts: An interactive board game for secondary school students". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2025 21 no. 10 (2025): em2707. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/17029

Harvard

Lin, Y.-A., Cheng, P.-H., and Ka, C. C. (2025). Teaching genetics and evolution with cross-scale concepts: An interactive board game for secondary school students. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 21(10), em2707. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/17029

MLA

Lin, Yu-An et al. "Teaching genetics and evolution with cross-scale concepts: An interactive board game for secondary school students". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 21, no. 10, 2025, em2707. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/17029