The Impact of Gamification on The Mathematics Achievement of Elementary Students

The Impact of Gamification on The Mathematics Achievement of Elementary Students

Tamisha Kimble

Abstract

“This study explores the use of gamification in elementary math. Living in a Global society requires students to use technology in classes daily. Students are using technology to complete a task that is aligned to state standards. These tasks are geared to help students master grade-level skills. So often, teachers are finding that students are completing the task just to comply. Teachers are seeking problems that will help with student engagement and prepare students for mastery of grade-level skills. Teachers are looking for a problem that serves the purpose of both. Teachers are looking for programs that engage students as well as help with mastering grade-level skills. The purpose of this study is to analyze how the use of gamification (computer-based games) could improve student achievement in math. Teachers are searching for computer applications/programs to help with mastery of skills. They are looking for different programs that will aid in the integration of technology but can also provide meaningful data to support student achievement with grade-level skills. v Gamification is still new, and different components of education are being tested as far as to validate the effectiveness of all features. There is much research over whether engagement levels increase through the use of gamified learning. What this research seeks to find is whether the use of gamified learning will help students master grade-level content skills. Despite this growing interest, there is a lack of conclusive empirical evidence on the effectiveness of DGBL due to different outcome measures for assessing effectiveness, varying methods of data collection, and inconclusive interpretation of results. This has resulted in a need for an overarching methodology for evaluating the efficacy of DGBL (All, Castellar & Looy, 2014). This study is a quasi-experimental study that used a control group and a treatment group that was non-randomized with the use of pretest and posttest design. Quasi-experiments aim to evaluate interventions but do not use the randomization of participants included in the study (Harris, 2006). Quasi-experimental research design was used for several reasons. The research had a small number of students, and test scores were taken before and after the use of the gamification. Analysis of Covariance was used to determine if students receiving gamification in Math instruction could score higher than students not receiving gamification. Student Math IOWA post-test scores in ten categories were used as dependent variables for comparison. Student Math IOWA pre-test scores, student RTI, gender and race were used as covariates to control the possible impact these variables might have on the student post-test scores. The finding of the Research Question 1 indicated that out of the ten skills tested there were five skills (with two indicating significant difference) from the Math IOWA showing that the students using gamifications scored higher than the students not using gamification. There is no overwhelming evidence in this study to indicate that students using gamification outscored students not using gamification. Research Question 2 asks "Do students using gamification in vi class master more grade level skills on IOWA than students not using gamification programs?" The findings for this research question showed no proof that students using gamification mastered more grade level skills than students not using gamification. The findings of this study showed that fourth grade students using gamification were only able to master two of the ten skills at grade level. The evidence does not support the claim that students master more grade level Math skills with the use of gamification”.

Reference

Kimble, Tamisha, "The impact of gamification on the mathematics achievement of elementary students" (2020). Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations. 43. https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/teachleaddoc_etd/43

Keywords

Gamification, technology, testing