Abstract

Students’ engagement and achievement in abstract biology topics, such as the human respiratory system, can be constrained by passive, lecture-based instruction. This study aimed to (1) develop a board-game-integrated active-learning unit on the respiratory system for Grade 8 students that met the 80/80 efficiency criterion and (2) compare students’ science learning achievement before and after instruction. A one-group pretest-posttest design was used. The participants were 25 Grade 8 students from one intact classroom at a public secondary school in Chaiyaphum Province, Thailand, selected through purposive sampling during the first semester of the 2025 academic year. The research instruments comprised two lesson plans totaling six hours of instruction, two board games, and a 30-item four-option multiple-choice achievement test (item-objective congruence = 1.00; difficulty = 0.53-0.70; discrimination = 0.28-0.57; Kuder-Richardson 20 reliability = 0.75). Formative performance was assessed using four rubric-scored worksheet activities. Data were analysed using percentages, means, standard deviations, the E₁/E₂ efficiency index, and a paired-samples t test. The instructional package achieved an E₁/E₂ efficiency of 86.30/88.67, exceeding the predefined 80/80 criterion. Mean achievement scores increased from 9.80 (SD = 2.92) on the pretest to 26.60 (SD = 2.53) on the posttest, t(24) = 20.679, p < .001. These findings indicate substantial within-group achievement gains following implementation of the board-game-integrated active-learning unit.

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