Improving Fourth-Grade Students’ Conceptual Understanding of Photosynthesis Through Genially-Based Interactive Media: A Two-Cycle Classroom Action Research

Putri Rahmawati; Nury Yuniasih; Aris Sri Sunarti; Nui Orawan Sriboonruang

doi:10.26740/jrpd.v12n2.p229-243

Authors

Putri Rahmawati University of Teachers’ Training and Education PGRI Kanjuruhan Malang
Nury Yuniasih University of Teachers’ Training and Education PGRI Kanjuruhan Malang
Aris Sri Sunarti Tanjungrejo 4 Public Elementary School
Nui Orawan Sriboonruang SEAMEO STEM-ED & MIT Media Lab

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26740/jrpd.v12n2.p229-243

Keywords:

interactive media, Genially, Conceptual Understanding, photosynthesis, classroom action research

Abstract

This study aims to examine whether and how Genially-based interactive media supported fourth-grade students’ conceptual understanding of photosynthesis across two classroom action research cycles. Twenty-one fourth-grade students in a public elementary school in Malang City, Indonesia, participated during the 2025-2026 school year, with Cycle I combining Genially with problem-based learning and Cycle II combining Genially with project-based learning that included direct plant observation, and conceptual understanding was measured with multiple-choice tests analyzed through normalized gain (N-Gain). In Cycle I, 42.86% of students were in the low N-Gain category and 57.14% were in the moderate category, and in Cycle II no student remained in the low category, 47.62% were in the moderate category, and 52.38% reached the high category, with an average N-Gain of 0.70. These findings suggest that guided use of Genially, combined with real-world observation activities and reflection-based revision, is associated with improved conceptual understanding of photosynthesis in this classroom, and the single-group design calls for cautious interpretation and further controlled research.

References

Aditomo, A., & Klieme, E. (2020). Forms of inquiry-based science instruction and their relations with learning outcomes: Evidence from high and low-performing education systems. International Journal of Science Education, 42(4), 504–525. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2020.1716093

Agarwal, P. K. (2019). Retrieval practice & Bloom's taxonomy: Do students need fact knowledge before higher order learning? Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(2), 189–209. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000282

Al-nakhle, H. (2022). The effectiveness of scenario-based virtual laboratory simulations to improve learning outcomes and scientific report writing skills. PLOS ONE, 17(11), Article e0277359. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277359

Amprazis, A., Papadopoulou, P., & Malandrakis, G. (2021). Plant blindness and children's recognition of plants as living things: A research in the primary schools context. Journal of Biological Education, 55(2), 139–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2019.1667406

Andersson, J., Löfgren, R., & Tibell, L. A. E. (2020). What's in the body? Children's annotated drawings. Journal of Biological Education, 54(2), 176–190. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2019.1569082

Arias, A. M., Davis, E. A., Marino, J.-C., Kademian, S. M., & Palincsar, A. S. (2016). Teachers' use of educative curriculum materials to engage students in science practices. International Journal of Science Education, 38(9), 1504–1526. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2016.1198059

Atchia, S. M. C., Chummun, D., & Luckho, S. (2022). Use of design thinking as a strategy to identify and clear students' misconceptions in photosynthesis: A case study. Journal of Biological Education, 58(3), 666–683. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2022.2100452

Barrutia, O., & Díez, J. R. (2021). 7 to 13-year-old students' conceptual understanding of plant nutrition: Should we be concerned about elementary teachers' instruction? Journal of Biological Education, 55(2), 196–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2019.1679655

Casanoves, M., Solé-Llussà, A., Haro, J., Gericke, N., & Valls, C. (2023). Assessment of the ability of game-based science learning to enhance genetic understanding. Research in Science & Technological Education, 41(4), 1496–1518. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2022.2044301

Chang, C.-C., Warden, C. A., Liang, C., & Lin, G.-Y. (2018). Effects of digital game-based learning on achievement, flow and overall cognitive load. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 34(4), 155–167. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.2961

Chen, C.-H., Law, V., & Huang, K. (2023). Adaptive scaffolding and engagement in digital game-based learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 71(4), 1785–1798. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-023-10244-x

Cheng, M.-T., Lin, Y.-W., She, H.-C., & Kuo, P.-C. (2017). Is immersion of any value? Whether, and to what extent, game immersion experience during serious gaming affects science learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48(2), 246–263. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12386

Cheng, M.-T., Chou, W.-C., Hsu, M.-E., & Cheng, F.-C. (2024). Blending educational gaming with physical experiments to engage high school students in inquiry-based learning. Journal of Biological Education, 58(5), 1517–1536. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2022.2157861

Chueh, C.-J., & Cheng, M.-T. (2026). Integrating a digital educational game into inquiry-based instruction: Effects on fourth-grade students' science learning and questioning. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 35(2), 481–496. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-025-10261-w

Domingos-Grilo, P., Reis-Grilo, C., Ruiz, C., & Mellado, V. (2012). An action-research programme with secondary education teachers on teaching and learning photosynthesis. Journal of Biological Education, 46(2), 72–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2011.587522

Ellwood, R., & Abrams, E. (2018). Student's social interaction in inquiry-based science education: How experiences of flow can increase motivation and achievement. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 13, 395–427. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-016-9769-x

Göksün, D. O., & Gürsoy, G. (2019). Comparing success and engagement in gamified learning experiences via Kahoot and Quizizz. Computers & Education, 135, 15–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.02.015

Hake, R. R. (1998). Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses. American Journal of Physics, 66(1), 64–74. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.18809

Hamari, J., Shernoff, D. J., Rowe, E., Coller, B., Asbell-Clarke, J., & Edwards, T. (2016). Challenging games help students learn: An empirical study on engagement, flow and immersion in game-based learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 170–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.07.045

Hwang, G.-J., & Chen, C.-H. (2017). Influences of an inquiry-based ubiquitous gaming design on students' learning achievements, motivation, behavioral patterns, and tendency towards critical thinking and problem solving. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48(4), 950–971. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12464

Kamarudin, M. Z., & Noor, M. S. A. M. (2024). To what extent do primary school children understand photosynthesis? A study of children's drawings with follow-up interviews. Education 3-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2024.2385434

Koć-Januchta, M. M., Schönborn, K. J., Tibell, L. A. E., Chaudhri, V. K., & Heller, H. C. (2020). Engaging with biology by asking questions: Investigating students' interaction and learning with an artificial intelligence-enriched textbook. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 58(6), 1190–1224. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633120921581

Krajcik, J., Schneider, B., Miller, E. A., Chen, I.-C., Bradford, L., Baker, Q., Bartz, K., Miller, C., Li, T., Codere, S., & Peek-Brown, D. (2023). Assessing the effect of project-based learning on science learning in elementary schools. American Educational Research Journal, 60(1), 70–102. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312221129247

Li, Y., Chen, D., & Deng, X. (2024). The impact of digital educational games on student's motivation for learning: The mediating effect of learning engagement and the moderating effect of the digital environment. PLOS ONE, 19(1), Article e0294350. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294350

Licorish, S. A., Owen, H. E., Daniel, B., & George, J. L. (2018). Students' perception of Kahoot!'s influence on teaching and learning. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning, 13, Article 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41039-018-0078-8

Lonergan, R., Cumming, T. M., & O'Neill, S. C. (2022). Exploring the efficacy of problem-based learning in diverse secondary school classrooms: Characteristics and goals of problem-based learning. International Journal of Educational Research, 112, Article 101945. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2022.101945

Lu, S.-J., Chen, Y.-H., Huang, H., & Liu, Y.-C. (2022). The role of digital-media-based pedagogical aids in elementary entomology: An innovative and sustainable approach. Sustainability, 14(16), Article 10067. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610067

Messig, D., & Groß, J. (2018). Understanding plant nutrition: The genesis of students' conceptions and the implications for teaching photosynthesis. Education Sciences, 8(3), Article 132. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8030132

Nichols, K., Burgh, G., & Kennedy, C. (2017). Comparing two inquiry professional development interventions in science on primary students' questioning and other inquiry behaviours. Research in Science Education, 47(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-015-9487-5

Pan, Y., & Ke, F. (2023). Effects of game-based learning supports on students' math performance and perceived game flow. Educational Technology Research and Development, 71(2), 459–479. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-022-10183-z

Pellas, N. (2023). Exploring relationships among students' computational thinking skills, emotions, and cognitive load using simulation games in primary education. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 39(5), 1576–1590. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12819

Rybska, E., Tunnicliffe, S. D., & Sajkowska, Z. A. (2017). Children's ideas about the internal structure of trees: Cross-age studies. Journal of Biological Education, 51(4), 375–390. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2016.1257500

Skribe Dimec, D., & Strgar, J. (2017). Scientific conceptions of photosynthesis among primary school pupils and student teachers of biology. CEPS Journal, 7(1), 49–68. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.14

Sotiriou, S. A., Lazoudis, A., & Bogner, F. X. (2020). Inquiry-based learning and e-learning: How to serve high and low achievers. Smart Learning Environments, 7, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-020-00130-x

Stagg, B. C., & Verde, M. F. (2019). Story of a seed: Educational theatre improves students' comprehension of plant reproduction and attitudes to plants in primary science education. Research in Science & Technological Education, 37(1), 15–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2018.1455655

Teng, Y. Y., Chou, W. C., & Cheng, M.-T. (2021). Learning immunology in a game: Learning outcomes, the use of player characters, immersion experiences and visual attention distributions. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 37(2), 475–486. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12501

Torkar, G., Gnidovec, T., Tunnicliffe, S. D., & Tomažič, I. (2019). Assessing students' knowledge of owls from their drawings and written responses. Journal of Biological Education, 53(1), 54–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2017.1420682

Tytler, R., Prain, V., Aranda, G., Ferguson, J., & Gorur, R. (2020). Drawing to reason and learn in science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 57(2), 209–231. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21590

van Uum, M. S. J., Verhoeff, R. P., & Peeters, M. (2017). Inquiry-based science education: Scaffolding pupils' self-directed learning in open inquiry. International Journal of Science Education, 39(18), 2461–2481. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2017.1388940

Villanueva, X., Villarroel, J. D., & Antón, A. (2021). Young children's drawings of plant world: A cohort study analysing pictorial content. Journal of Biological Education, 55(3), 225–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2019.1679656