Didactic Game in the System of Development of School Students' Cognitive Interest at History Lessons in Basic School

This graduate qualification thesis deals with the role of didactic game in the system of schoolchildren’s cognitive interest development at history lessons in the primary school. The aim of the thesis is to develop and approbate the system of lessons aimed at increasing of the schoolchildren’s cognitive interest in history via the use of didactic games. The research deals with the following tasks: to define the concept and the structure of schoolchildren’s cognitive interest, to identify the main tools of its formation and the place of didactic games among them, to analyze the existing pedagogical developments, to determine the initial level of schoolchildren’s cognitive interest, to develop and conduct the series of history lessons with the use of didactic games, as well as to assess the changes in the level of cognitive interest after the implementation of this methodology. The methodology of the research includes content analysis of methodological materials, questionnaire survey of students before and after the lessons with didactic games, as well as practical approbation of the developed system of lessons. The empirical base consisted of schoolchildren of primary school who participated in the experimental series of lessons on the section “Cultural Space of the Russian Empire in the XVIII century” for the 8th grade, designed according to the model of motivational pedagogical design of John Keller. The main results of the research consist in the confirmation of the hypothesis that the introduction of didactic games contributes to the formation and development of schoolchildren’s cognitive interest in the history lessons. The developed system of lessons showed a positive impact on schoolchildren’s learning motivation and involvement, which was confirmed by the results of questionnaires and observation during the approbation of the methodology.