Game-based learning through mobile phone apps: effectively enhancing learning for social work students

In the last two decades, there has been a growing body of new teaching methods that encourage students to be active participants in their own learning. One of these approaches is known as game-based learning (GBL). In social work education, GBL has only been seen in the last decade, and thus is relatively new. The aim of this study is to explore the use of GBL through mobile phone apps, and to examine its effectiveness in enhancing learning for social work students. This study was carried out using a quantitative research design and followed the model of a quasi-experimental study. A purposeful sample was used, namely 48 social work students registered in two sections of a course in Generalist Practice in Social Work. The experimental and control groups were compared both before and after the intervention, with the assessment based on the students’ marks in the exams and on their scores for the scale that measured their perception of the effectiveness of the methodology. Although there was a strong similarity between the experimental and control groups before the GBL intervention, there was a significant difference between them after it, which indicates that digital GBL might have the potential to enhance learning in social work students.