Game-based Learning for Science Education in Institutional Care Settings in Northwestern Mexico

This study examines how game-based learning (GBL) can motivate STEM engagement among young boys and teenagers living in two institutional care settings in Hermosillo, in the Mexican state of Sonora, a population the authors describe as facing compounded educational barriers. Motivated by persistent gaps in STEM enrollment, gender representation, and teacher training in Mexico, the authors designed and ran a single-day intervention in December 2023 involving 32 male participants aged 6 to 17. Students rotated through four non-digital, STEM-themed games adapted from familiar formats (Abremente, Hedbanz, Lotería, and a Jeopardy-style quiz) plus a hands-on robotic hand engineering challenge built from recycled materials, given the limited connectivity and devices available at the sites.

The authors report that participants responded with notable enthusiasm, particularly to knowledge-based competitions and the robotic hand project, where some students extended the activity with self-generated challenges and continued playing after scheduled stations ended. Observers interpreted these behaviors as evidence that GBL functioned as a novel and motivational entry point into STEM content. The authors also frame these observations against broader context, including Mexico's below-average per-student education spending and a reported 40% reduction in teacher training funds in 2017, and they acknowledge that other studies have found mixed effects of GBL on academic evaluations across sociodemographic groups.

The findings rest on observational, volunteer-based experience with a small sample and no formal measurement instruments, so the conclusions concern engagement rather than learning outcomes. The authors explicitly identify these limitations and call for broader multi-site studies with measurable evaluation tools.