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Education and Information Technologies

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09-08-2017

Digital educational games and mathematics. Results of a case study in primary school settings

Author: Emmanuel Fokides

Published in: Education and Information Technologies | Issue 2/2018

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Abstract

The study presents the results of a project in which a series of digital games were used for teaching Mathematics to first, fourth, and sixth-grade primary school students (ages 6–7, 8–9, and 11–12). Mathematics was selected as the teaching subject because of the difficulties students face in understanding basic math concepts. Although digital games are used quite extensively for educational purposes, they are scarcely used for teaching Mathematics. The games were developed by the classes' teachers using Microsoft's Kodu Game Lab. The learning outcomes were compared to two other groups of students. The first was taught using the model proposed by Driver and Oldham while the second was taught conventionally. Data was collected using questionnaires and evaluation sheets. A total of 201 students participated in the study coming from three schools in Athens, Greece. Results indicated that students in the games group outperformed, in most cases, students in the other groups. Students' views for the games were highly positive. The implications for software engineers and education administrators are also discussed.

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Title: Digital educational games and mathematics. Results of a case study in primary school settings
Author: Emmanuel Fokides
Publication date: 09-08-2017
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Education and Information Technologies / Issue 2/2018
Print ISSN: 1360-2357
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7608
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-017-9639-5

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