Digital Play in the Lab: How Pre-service Teachers View Game-transformed Inquiry Laboratory Learning

This study aims to explore pre-service biology teachers’ perceptions of digital game integration within inquiry-based learning environment. Twenty participants engaged in a 7-hr learning intervention that combined a digital game with hands-on inquiry laboratory activities. Pre- and post-intervention drawings were analyzed to assess shifts in their perceptions. Results indicated a conceptual shift toward viewing game and laboratory learning as complementary, with high-motivation, high-attitude participants showing greater integration. Differences emerged in perceptions of participants, settings, tools, activities, and game–laboratory integration. These findings indicate perceived increases in engagement through game-transformed inquiry intervention and highlight motivation’s role in shaping instructional approaches.