Thermoquest Board Game for Grade 9 Learners: Student Performance and Perceptions of the Board Game

Game-based learning has emerged as an effective strategy to boost engagement and comprehension in science education. In contrast, traditional Physics instruction often leads to low learner interest, particularly in abstract topics like Thermodynamics. This study aimed to develop and evaluate ThermoQuest, a board game designed to enhance Grade 9 learners’ engagement and understanding of heat and work concepts. It employed a Research and Development (R&D) framework with a one-group pre-test and post-test design. A needs assessment using a paper-based 20-item diagnostic test among 125 Grade 10 learners revealed that 90% of items were “Not Mastered,” indicating significant learning gaps. ThermoQuest includes a wooden board, trivia and question cards, targeting basic recall to higher-order thinking, tokens and dice, manual, and scoring sheet. The game was evaluated by eight expert evaluators, receiving an overall rating of “Very Good” (M = 4.81/5). Most learners scored between 6–15 points in gameplay, with some achieving higher mastery. After implementation with 111 Grade 9 learners, conceptual gains were measured using a 30-item pre-test and post-test, yielding medium normalized gain scores (g = 0.35–0.46). Learners’ perceptions, measured via the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (4-point Likert scale), showed strong agreement in value/usefulness (3.50) and interest/enjoyment (3.41). In-service teachers (N = 8) also rated the game highly in acceptability, usability, and cognitive impact (M = 3.95–4.00). Findings suggest that ThermoQuest is an engaging and promising supplementary tool for teaching heat and work concepts as evidenced by conceptual gains, high motivation ratings, and positive teacher evaluations.