Learning Management through Geographical Processes Combined with Gamification to Enhance Geographical Reasoning Abilities of Grade 8 Students

Abstract

This research article aimed to: 1) examine learning management for developing geographical reasoning ability among Grade 8 students, and 2) develop a learning management approach based on the Geographic Inquiry Process integrated with the concept of Gamification to enhance the geographical reasoning ability of Grade 8 students. This study employed a qualitative research design. Data were collected through interviews with key informants, including teachers, educational supervisors, and Grade 8 students at Samsen Wittayalai School. The research instruments used for data collection consisted of: 1) interview questions regarding current learning management practices; 2) a learning management plan based on the Geographic Inquiry Process integrated with the concept of Gamification to develop geographical reasoning ability; 3) a geographical reasoning ability test; and 4) focus group discussion questions. Data were analyzed using inductive analysis. The research findings revealed that: 1) the current learning management for developing geographical reasoning ability still faces several limitations, some geographical content is perceived as distant from students’ daily lives, which limits the connection between classroom learning and real-life contexts. Moreover, most teachers still rely primarily on lecture-based instruction, leading students to focus more on memorization rather than analytical thinking and reasoning. 2) An appropriate approach for developing geographical reasoning ability is the implementation of learning management based on the Geographic Inquiry Process to promote systematic thinking, together with the application of the Gamification concept to enhance students’ learning motivation and increase the engagement of learning activities. The results of the learning activities indicated that students demonstrated geographical reasoning ability at a good level. In addition, the focus group discussion revealed that students developed a more holistic understanding of environmental crises and were able to explain the causes, processes, and impacts of these problems in a systematic manner.