Development of a STEM-Based Board Game "Nest" on the Harmony in Ecosystems Subject to Support Fifth Grade Elementary School Students' Learning Motivation

Student learning motivation in Natural and Social Sciences (IPAS) in elementary schools remains low because of teacher-centered learning and limited media. This study aimed to develop Nest Boardgame, a physical STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) board game on Harmony in Ecosystems, and to test its feasibility for supporting learning motivation. This research and development (R&D) study used the ADDIE model with 31 fifth-grade students. Instruments included needs questionnaires, expert validation sheets, teacher and student response questionnaires, STEM-based Student Worksheets (LKPD), and ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction) motivation questionnaires. Nest Boardgame was rated very valid by language experts (92.5%), material experts (96.2%), and media experts (91.9%). In the small- and large-scale trials, student responses were 90.63% and 90.16%, teacher responses 80.56% and 86.11%, and worksheet achievement 84.37% and 78.85%. In the large-scale trial, effectiveness was measured by changes in ARCS motivation scores after a short simulation and a full game increased significantly (Wilcoxon, p < 0.001; normalized gain (N-Gain) of 0.36, moderate). The novelty lies in the integrating STEM into the game mechanism, each round requires a specific STEM domain while simulating the food chain, energy transfer, and natural events. This medium is valid, practical, and quite effective.