Advancing academic achievement: integrating society 5.0 and game-based learning in metaverse space for undergraduates in Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

This quasi-experimental research investigated the efficacy of applying the Society 5.0 concept to establish game-based learning on Metaverse Space for undergraduates in an international program in Bangkok, Thailand. The study was conducted in a Thai public university's international college with a population of six classes of junior university students totalling 178, from which two classes with 56 participants were purposively sampled. Almost all the 54 students were Thai with only two not Thai. About two-thirds (71.4%, n = 40) were female students, and about one-third were male (28.6%, n = 16). A module of the game for this English course was the 'prepositions of place'. The study employed 1) a 3D virtual online class on SPATIAL.io, 2) two images of a hidden object game, and 3) a 40-item multiple-choice test as research instruments. The data were analyzed through means with standard deviations, percentages, and a paired sample t-test. The study found that game-based learning on metaverse space through SPATIAL.io motivated students to be more active while studying online and confirmed that the game-based learning tool on metaverse space was a useful method of enhancing students' learning outcomes, as evidenced by the significant increase from pre-test (mean= 28.191, SD = 3.881) to posttest (mean = 35.21, SD = 3.404), t (55) = -15.256, p < .001. The average learning gain for the experiment was 0.57. The findings of this study suggest that game characteristics and a 3D virtual environment are persuasive and motivating tools for students, thus increasing and improving their academic performance.