Student Response to the Use of the “Make a Mangrove” Game in Learning the Ecosystem Concept

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-543-0_39How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Ecosystem Learning; Environmental Awareness; Game-Based Learning; Mangrove Conservation; Serious Games; Student Response

Abstract

Instruction on ecosystem concepts, especially those related to mangrove ecosystems, is often delivered in a theoretical manner that lacks contextual grounding, even though mangroves are critical ecological systems that are increasingly vulnerable to degradation. Educational games offer an alternative approach capable of enhancing student motivation, engagement, and conceptual understanding. This study aims to analyze students’ responses to the Make a Mangrove game as a supplementary learning medium for ecosystem material, focusing on learning experience, material comprehension, interaction and skills, environmental awareness, and game appeal. Using a descriptive quantitative survey design, data were gathered from 25 seventh-grade students. The results demonstrate overwhelmingly positive responses across all domains. Students reported heightened motivation, increased enjoyment, and improved learning experiences. Cognitively, the game effectively supported understanding of mangrove ecosystem components, functions, and ecological roles, with comprehension scores consistently exceeding 80%. The game also proved valuable in developing important skills, including strategic problem-solving, collaboration, and decision-making. Moreover, students exhibited strengthened environmental awareness, reflected in pro-environmental intentions such as willingness to engage in conservation activities and enthusiasm for sharing knowledge with peers. These positive outcomes were strongly supported by the game’s design quality, featuring engaging visuals, intuitive usability, and well-calibrated levels of challenge. A minor limitation emerged regarding students’ limited ability to fully grasp complex and dynamic environmental threats. Nonetheless, the study concludes that the Make a Mangrove game serves as an effective educational tool that integrates cognitive mastery, emotional engagement, and environmental responsibility, supporting its broader implementation within environmental science curricula.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Fenny Roshayanti
AU  - Triyanti Marfiana
AU  - Intan Indiati
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/26
TI  - Student Response to the Use of the “Make a Mangrove” Game in Learning the Ecosystem Concept
BT  - Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Education and Social Science Research (ICESRE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 475
EP  - 486
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-543-0_39
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-543-0_39
ID  - Roshayanti2026
ER  -