A Module for Primary School Students in Space Education : Educational Game Practices in Digital Environment*

Space science is a field of study with high potential, with clues and innovations from the past to the present and the future. In the current century, with the acceleration of space science studies on the exploration and study of space, space education is given priority from an early age. In this study, a digital space education environment was created by the researchers for the new generation students. In this context, a digital space module was designed with 9 different educational digital games at primary school level. The developed module was evaluated by applying it to 15 primary school 3rd grade students (8-9 age) for 8 weeks. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the students before and after the implementation of the module. "Space Objects Open Ended Interview Form" and "Space Drawings Form" were used as data collection tools. The obtained data were analyzed using content analysis. In line with the findings obtained in the research, it was concluded that primary school students' knowledge about the structure and appearance of the Earth and scientists working on space increased. In addition, it has been reached that the students' drawings about space objects, planets and astronauts have improved. The findings obtained from the digital space module developed in the study show that it has the potential to improve the quality of next generation space education studies for future students. This aspect of the study is expected to contribute to the literature.