Abstract

Innovative instructional strategies can support meaningful learning experiences. Academic games are structured educational activities intended to promote engagement, participation, and critical thinking. This study examined the effectiveness of academic game-based activities in developing the critical-thinking skills of Grade 11 Humanities and Social Sciences students, including performance before and after implementation. The source describes the study as quantitative and correlational, although it also refers to pretest and posttest measurement following an intervention. Thirty-five Grade 11 Humanities and Social Sciences students from Bestlink College of the Philippines were selected through cluster sampling. A survey questionnaire identified familiar academic games and assessed perceived effectiveness, learning outcomes, self-motivation, and observed benefits. The source does not describe the critical-thinking test or statistical analyses. The source reports a significant improvement in critical-thinking skills after the use of academic games and states that posttest performance was higher than pretest performance. It interprets the change as evidence of improved analytical ability. However, no pretest or posttest means, test statistic, p-value, or effect size is reported. The findings suggest that academic games may serve as instructional tools rather than solely as recreational activities. Their interactive nature may encourage cognitive engagement, participation, consideration of different perspectives, and rapid decision-making. The study recommends integrating appropriately designed game-based activities into the curriculum to support analytical skills.