A study on the experiences of pre-service early childhood teachers who participated in major classes applying gamification

Objectives The purpose of this study was to analyze the meaning of experiences of pre-service early childhood teachers who participated in a major course incorporating gamification. Methods Gamification was applied for one semester in the course “Early Childhood Education Curriculum,” a major subject for sophomores in the Department of Early Childhood Education at C College in Jeollanam-do. After each class, reflective journals written by eight pre-service early childhood teachers, who were the participants of the study, were analyzed. Additionally, individual interviews between the researcher and the participants were conducted to verify the validity of the journal contents, and these were analyzed to derive the meanings of their experiences. Results The experience of the study participants was largely classified into two topics: ‘participating as a learner’ and ‘experiencing as a teacher’. In ‘participating as a learner’, the participants experienced ‘positive emotions’, ‘self-directed learning’, and ‘reestablishing relationships’. In ‘experiencing as a teacher’, they experienced ‘autonomy’, ‘understanding teaching methods’, and ‘deep understanding of play’. Conclusions Participants in the study were able to understand various teaching methods and recognize the meaning and value of play as early childhood teachers through classes applying gamification.