Game-based storytelling in non-formal Romanian science education

Motivating students to learn sciences is an objective that most teachers in the pre-university education set themselves, given that today scientific literacy can no longer be disregarded for our students to be competitive on the labor market and become tomorrow’s responsible citizens. Starting from the premise that scientific innovation is based on creativity, that scientists/science teachers can use a variety of approaches to explain physics concepts and theories, and that storytelling and games can increase students’ interest towards learning and teaching science, a substantial amount of formal and non-formal activities are taking place at the West University of Timisoara (WUT). These activities are meant to present to the future science teachers why and how to use such pedagogical methods to enhance their teaching and learning skills. Therefore, in the “Digital Storytelling” interdisciplinary course, future science teachers acquire skills and knowledge of digital storytelling methods and techniques, and develop a complex set of skills and abilities related to the analysis and understanding of the storytelling universe. These skills and knowledge can be effectively applied in non-formal activities developed by WUT, such as the “English plus Science” summer school or the project “Physics – a story in images”, where the future science teachers design, apply and assess learning game-based storytelling activities. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to present and analyze non-formal game-based storytelling activities designed and managed by the future science teachers from WUT. We questioned both future science teachers and secondary school teachers regarding the way in which such activities develop both teaching and learning skills and motivate students to learn. Their opinions suggest that this method can be successfully used in Romanian science education as it facilitates learning and communicating science and leads to an increase in the students’ interest for science.