Proceedings of the 5 th European Conference on Games Based Learning 5 th European Conference on Games Based Learning

In Scotland, work has been done over the past six years to transform education towards a fresh approach to what, how and where young people learn. This new approach, known as the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), has already been developing in primary schools and is now ready to be implemented in secondary schools. One of the teaching and learning approaches emphasised under CfE is the use of digital games-based learning (DGBL) technologies in classroom education. A survey was distributed to the teachers from 49 primary schools across Renfrewshire, Scotland intended to gauge the current use of computer games for learning at primary schools in Scotland and how such tools fit within the CfE from the teachers’ perspective. This paper presents the findings on the trends identified from this survey in relation to the teachers’ view and motivation towards DGBL. The survey found that problem-solving and recollection were identified as the two most important skills obtained from computer games that are relevant to primary education and challenge, curiosity, pleasure and cooperation were rated as the most important reasons for playing computer games for learning in primary school. The main motivation for teachers to use DGBL was because the students enjoy using this approach and the most important benefit of DGBL was that it transforms learning into a fun, motivating and engaging experience. In general teachers showed positive attitudes towards DGBL and Mann-Whitney U tests found no significant differences in the responses between teachers who used DGBL and those who did not use a DGBL approach with the exception of the obstacles faced when using DGBL. The findings from this research will make an important contribution to the empirical evidence of games-based learning particularly with regards to its application in primary school education.