Using Educaplay in Natural Sciences for students with unfinished schooling at the San Roque Educational Unit

Abstract

Educaplay was considered a valuable educational platform due to its focus on gamification and the creation of interactive activities. The objective of the research was to develop a system of activities using Educaplay to contribute to motivation and academic performance in the Natural Sciences subject of the eighth grade of unfinished education at the "San Roque" Educational Unit. A quantitative and applied research approach was developed, oriented to solve problems that arise in the teaching-learning processes; transversal due to its implementation in the first semester of 2025, and correlational. Theoretical, empirical, and statistical methods were employed (Cronbach's alpha, R-squared, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Shapiro-Wilk, Wilconxon with ranks, and Spearman). The result was a system of activities using Educaplay to contribute to motivation and academic performance in the teaching-learning process of the Natural Sciences subject. The results show an increase in student scores of 1.37 units, the survey scores increased from 2.23 to 4.20, with increases of 1.97 and 2.00 for motivation and performance. The Wilconxon test demonstrates a significant difference between the pre- and post-test results, as well as the Spearman test, which considers that the variables of challenging knowledge use, immediate feedback, progress at one's own pace, and active participation directly influenced academic performance. The survey of 15 specialist teachers in the District (NPS Index) yielded excellent results, obtaining a score of 80.