CreativeDrama and GamificationBased

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Experimental: Each session in the experimental group includes four phases: 1. Warm-up (10 min): Students engage in ice-breakers and movement activities to relax and prepare mentally and physically. 2. Games \& Activities (30 min): Drama and game-based tasks related to nature and recycling promote experiential learning and teamwork. 3. Improvisation (30 min): Students take part in role-plays and skits (e.g., acting as a tree or a recycled item) to build empathy and deepen their connection to environmental themes. 4. Evaluation (20 min): Students reflect on their learning, share feelings, and receive feedback. Facilitators summarize key points and reinforce the session's goals.

Study summary

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of a creative drama and gamification-based educational experience on children's levels of nature connectedness and recycling behaviors. With the increasing environmental problems today, instilling environmental awareness in children at an early age and helping them establish a bond with nature is of great importance for a sustainable future. In this context, creative drama stands out as an effective method in shaping environmental attitudes, as it supports children's emotional development and enhances their ability to empathize. Gamification, on the other hand, is a pedagogical strategy that increases children's active participation in learning processes and boosts their motivation.

In the study, an experimental design will be used, and a group of students will participate in an educational program themed around nature and recycling, incorporating creative drama and gamification activities. At the end of the program, children's nature connectedness and recycling behaviors will be measured, and pre-test-post-test comparisons will be made. Nature connectedness is defined as an individual's perception of nature as a whole and seeing themselves as a part of that whole, and it is strongly associated with environmentally friendly behaviors. Recycling behaviors include individuals' voluntary efforts to separate and repurpose waste.

This study aims to reveal how creative and interactive learning methods influence children's environmental awareness and behaviors, and it seeks to contribute to the development of environmental education programs.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Nature Connectedness Scale — 5 minutes
  In this study, the Nature Connectedness Scale developed by Cheng and Monroe (2012) and adapted into Turkish by Alkış Küçükaydın (2024) will be used to measure children's emotional and cognitive levels of connectedness to nature. The scale consists of 16 items designed to assess children's relationships with nature across emotional, empathic, and responsibility dimensions. The instrument uses a five-point Likert scale: "Strongly Disagree", "Disagree", "Neutral", "Agree", and "Strongly Agree."
• The Recycling Scale for Middle School Students — 5 minutes
  The Recycling Scale for Middle School Students consists of a structure with 15 items grouped under three factors. However, one item was removed from the scale due to its standardized regression weight falling below 0.5, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted again. As a result, the final version of the scale was confirmed to include 14 items under three dimensions: awareness, behavior, and attitude. The reliability of the scale was determined using Cronbach's Alpha, yielding a value of 0.856, indicating high internal consistency.
• Demographic Information Form — 5 minutes
  The Demographic Information Form developed by the researcher will be used to collect participants' demographic characteristics and basic information regarding their environmental attitudes. This form consists of 14 questions in total. In addition to demographic data such as participants' gender, grade level, age, and parents' educational background, the form includes items about participation in school activities related to nature and the environment, use of recycling bins at home, attitudes toward spending time in nature, knowledge levels about environmental and recycling issues, types of materials separated for recycling at home, frequency of time spent in nature, emotions felt when recycling is not practiced, family recycling habits, and interest in acquiring information about nature and environmental topics. The study data will be collected from selected middle schools affiliated with the Istanbul Directorate of National Education.

Trial sites (1)

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