oodlü Improved Critical Thinking and Collaboration in Primary School. Simultaneously.

There is a particular kind of research that lands differently.

A 2023 paper published in Jurnal Iqra': Kajian Ilmu Pendidikan by researchers at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia Kampus Serang set out to solve a specific problem. At a primary school in Banten, children were passive. They were not thinking critically. They were not collaborating. Lessons were teacher-led, lecture-based, and technology-free.

The researchers introduced oodlü.

The study, led by Ita Rustiati Ridwan and colleagues, followed 30 children across three structured learning cycles. Critical thinking and collaboration were measured separately at each stage. The results improved cycle by cycle until, by the third cycle, all three groups had achieved the success criteria for critical thinking skills, and every group received a very good rating for collaboration.

That outcome matters on its own. But what the researchers noted about their own work matters more.

They described a gap in the existing literature. Previous research had looked at critical thinking and collaboration as separate variables. This study looked at both together, using game-based learning with oodlü as the medium. The conclusion was that both skills can be improved simultaneously through the same activity.

That finding sits at the heart of what we have been building.

The reason oodlü uses game mechanics is that well-designed game structures create the conditions for real cognitive work. Levels with clear progression. Missions that require reading, practice, and discussion before advancing. Group activities where children have to negotiate, adapt, and contribute.

The researchers described what changed in the classroom as the cycles progressed. Children who had initially relied on one stronger member began to contribute individually. Children who had been disengaged started participating actively. Groups that were functioning below the success threshold in cycle one were meeting it by cycle three.

A classroom in motion.

The paper also noted something that aligns with everything Wayne and I have discussed about how game structures interact with social learning. When children work on problems together in a game environment, the competitive and collaborative elements coexist. The group succeeds together. The individual contributes to that success. The feedback is immediate. And because the format is engaging, children are present in a way that lecture-based delivery rarely achieves.

The study was conducted at SD Negeri Pasirhuni and published in December 2023 in Jurnal Iqra': Kajian Ilmu Pendidikan. We are grateful to Ita Rustiati Ridwan, Muhammad Hafeez, Susilawati, Putri Amalia Rahayu, Muhammad Hanif, and Nenden Sundari for conducting it.

Seeing oodlü named as the medium in a peer-reviewed study on 21st-century skills is something that still takes a moment to absorb.

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