Developing Sustainability Competencies: Critical and Anticipatory Thinking through Botanical Eco-Gamification Program

Abstract

The integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in higher education is crucial for developing sustainability competencies in future generations. This research aims to develop sustainability competencies, especially critical thinking and anticipatory competencies through the implementation of learning based on eco-gamification. Eco gamification integrates gamification elements with environmental issues to create a more interactive and relevant learning experience. This study used pre-experimental method with one group pretest-posttest design. The subjects of this study were 72 undergraduate students of biology education who contracted Biodiversity, Environmental Knowledge and Conservation courses at one of the universities in Bandung, West Java. The sampling technique used was convenience sampling. Data were collected through written tests before and after the intervention and analyzed using the N-Gain formula. The results showed that there was a significant increase in students' critical and anticipatory thinking competencies with N-Gain in the moderate category (0.57). The increase in the mean score of sustainability competence with the initial mean score in the good category (66.84) increased to very good (85.65). This finding indicates that the integration of eco-gamification in learning can be an effective strategy in developing students' sustainability competencies, especially in critical thinking and anticipatory competencies.