Efficacy of collaborative board game with different debriefing methods for preventing cyberbullying behaviors of primary students

Abstract

Cyberbullying is a recent worldwide social issue. It affects society, but early teens and adolescents seem to be the target at-risk groups and are more likely to get involved in cyberbullying. However, Thai youths still have misconceptions and misunderstandings about cyberbullying compared to Western youths. Scholars have suggested game-based learning as one of the effective tools for supporting cyberbullying teaching and learning, especially when followed by a proper debriefing session. Despite this, the different modes of debriefing for implementing board games in cyberbullying prevention have not yet been well addressed. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of a collaborative board game and different debriefing methods on students’ cyberbullying behaviors. A repeated measures experiment was conducted with 124 students in grades 5–6 in Thailand using the Cyberbullying Behaviors Questionnaire, the Debriefing Experience Scale, the Learning Perceptions Questionnaire, and structured interview questions. The students’ cyberbullying behaviors were analyzed quantitatively using two-way repeated measures ANOVA. Meanwhile, the debriefing experiences and learning perceptions were compared between groups of different debriefing methods by one-way ANOVA. Thematic analysis was also conducted on student representatives’ interview transcripts qualitatively to gain further insight into students’ opinions on the learning intervention. The results showed that students’ cyberbullying behaviors improved after the learning intervention, in which different debriefing methods had different effects on students’ improvement. Additionally, the self-reported questionnaires and interviews revealed that they had positive debriefing experiences with the received debriefing methods and perceived the innovation as a tool that helped improve their learning regarding cyberbullying. Implication of the Thesis: This study helps fill the gaps in the uninvestigated area in the literature focusing on the design, development, and utilization of a collaborative board game with appropriate self-debriefing methods to enhance students’ preferable cyberbullying behaviors, which are requisite for the safe use of technology and youths’ digital well-being. It provides guidelines for teachers, educational game designers, parents, and related organizations on applying the learning approach to create an active learning environment that motivates students to practice upstander behaviors. Collaborative debriefing scaffolded with multimedia is recommended to enhance students’ knowledge about cyberbullying. On the other hand, individual scaffolded debriefing should be used to facilitate students’ affective behaviors. Regarding suggestions for future studies, we encourage researchers to consider possible relating variables that could affect students’ cyberbullying behaviors and learning retention in games (i.e., gender, motivation, learning styles, and cyberbullying experiences). Moreover, alternative data collection methods are endorsed to be used to gain insightful information on improving students’ learning about cyberbullying and sustainable behavioral development.