Raising insects with an application to enhance students’ self-confidence in interacting with insects

ABSTRACT

Insect phobia may last for a lifetime and needs to be overcome. This study aimed to design an application, Insect Garden, for students to learn about and experience how to raise four types of insect: Giant Asian Mantis, Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle, Formosan Stag Beetle, and Seven-Spotted Ladybug. It also investigated how the players’ self-confidence in interacting with insects could be enhanced. Additionally, to understand the affective factors related to gameplay, this study explored the correlates between personality, insect phobia before gameplay, gameplay interest and self-confidence enhancement in interacting with insects. Data were collected from 211 eighth-grade students, from whom 175 useful data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results revealed that Extraversion is positively related to gameplay interest but not to Insect phobia, whereas Neuroticism is positively related to Insect phobia and gameplay interest. Insect phobia is negatively related to self-confidence enhancement in interacting with insects, but gameplay is positively related.

KEYWORDS:

• Gameplay interest
• insect phobia
• personality
• self-confidence enhancement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by the “Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences” of National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) from The Featured Areas Research Center Program within the framework of the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan.

Notes on contributors

Jon-Chao Hong

Jon-Chao Hong is a professor in the Department of Industrial Education at National Taiwan Normal University and also a member of the Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences.

Ming-Yueh Hwang

Ming-Yueh Hwang is a professor in the Department of Adult and Continuing Education at National Taiwan Normal University and also a member of the Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences.

Kai-Hsin Tai

Kai-Hsin Tai is a postdoctoral fellow of National Taiwan Normal University and also a member of the Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences.

Jian-Hong Ye

Jian-Hong Ye is a Ph.D. student in Department of Industrial Education of National Taiwan Normal University, and also a of the Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences.