Effects of Game-Based Learning On Attitude and Achievement in Elementary Mathematics
Effects of Game-Based Learning On Attitude and Achievement in Elementary Mathematics
Effects of Game-Based Learning On Attitude and Achievement in Elementary Mathematics
2019
Leah P. McCoy
Wake Forest University, [email protected]
Recommended Citation
White, Kyli and McCoy, Leah P. (2019) "Effects of Game-Based Learning on Attitude and Achievement in Elementary Mathematics,"
Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research: Vol. 21: Iss. 1. https://doi.org/10.4148/2470-6353.1259
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White and McCoy: Game-Based Learning
Abstract
Games-based learning involves instruction with realistic game experiences (Cicchino, 2015).
This action research study explored game-based learning as fifth grade mathematics students
completed a brief unit on ordered pairs utilizing game-based lessons. Attitude and achievement
data were collected mainly by surveys, content tests, student interviews, and field notes.
Additional information included in the teacher-researcher analysis consisted of classroom
photographs, videos, and student work samples. Results revealed that student attitudes improved
both toward the lessons and toward math in general. Similarly, achievement improved for all
students across the unit. Analysis of the narrative data produced three themes. First, the students
acquired a growth mindset (Boaler, 2016) that fostered a positive work ethic. Second, student
partner work helped them to develop problem solving skills. And third, the games engaged the
students. In summary, students showed significant improvements both in their attitudes about
math and their achievement in ordered pairs.
Many students begin to develop negative attitudes about mathematics during their first
few years in the elementary classroom (Leroy & Bressoux, 2016). By the time these students
reach the fifth grade many of them inherently struggle at math, simply because they do not learn
best through the common process of rote memorization. Rather they would better succeed
through a process that is exploratory, collaborative, and challenging (Kebritchi, Hirumi, & Bai,
2010). Leroy and Bressoux (2016) note that when elementary students struggle, these attitudes
about mathematics can be toxic to a productive atmosphere, fostering low motivation and drive.
Boaler (2016), one of the leading researchers on students’ mathematics motivation, believes “the
difference between those who succeed and those who don’t is not in the brains they were born
with, but their approach to life, the messages they receive about their potential, and the
Researchers assert that most students’ dislike for mathematics stems from the way that
the subject is presented in the classroom (Boaler, 2014; Dossel, 2016; Hunt, 1985; Reyes, 1984).
The current presentation of mathematics in many elementary school classrooms relies on the
master specific content (Olson, 1999). This rigid structure leads students to view math as a chore
that needs to be completed, rather than a puzzle that needs to be figured out.
apprehension, or fear that interferes with math performance” and begin to dread the time of day
devoted to the subject (Hunt, 1985, p. 32). Students can develop a fixed mindset about
mathematics, believing that they are either inherently successful at it, or they are bad at math
(Boaler, 2016). Moving away from these “fixed” practices can not only help change the way that
students view mathematics, but also the way that they view themselves.
Findings by Linder, Smart, and Cribbs (2015) suggest successful mathematics instruction
is centered on student interests and experiences. Children are naturally inquisitive by nature,
interested in the process of solving puzzles and trying to work things out. Guided discovery-
learning in the classroom entails the teacher’s introduction of a complex problem which the
students are able to work together to solve (Janssen, Westbroek, & Van Driel, 2014). This
process of social scaffolding, helps the students to “become more motivated, develop flexible
knowledge, and learn how knowledge is developed in a specific domain” (Janssen et al., 2014, p.
67). Another classroom activity that promotes student-driven exploration is the use of gaming in
the classroom. Serious games, which are defined as games that were created with the purpose of
education in mind, help to increase student engagement and motivation (Young et al., 2012).
Other researchers (Cicchino, 2015; Habgood & Ainsworth, 2011) have concluded that game-
based learning (GBL) can be very effective for the development of student intrinsic motivation
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Serious games target the intrinsic motivation of students, relying on their internal drives
for competition, interaction, and creativity. According to Vygotsky (1978), children are
inherently social beings who learn best through investigation, and interaction with others. GBL is
founded on this principle of social interaction, as serious games give students opportunities to
explore concepts through the form of competitive exploration. Research has examined the effect
of competition on learning. Results from recent studies have found that competition improves
motivation and cooperation, and ultimately learning outcomes (Burguillo, 2010; Cagiltay,
In one study, Kebritchi et al. (2010) examined the effects of incorporating serious GBL
into the pre-algebra math classroom. According to the classroom teachers in this study, the use of
serious gaming was effective because the games were experiential in nature, offered a new way
to present and experience learning, gave the students context and motivation to work on the
The purpose of the current action research study was to study the effect of game-based
learning for fifth grade mathematics learners. Given the potential positive effects of game-based
implement and examine the use of serious gaming activities in fifth grade mathematics.
Specifically, she studied the topic of ordered pairs and the effect of serious gaming activities on
Methodology
This action research study was conducted at a public elementary school in the
southeastern United States with a standard-level fifth grade math class. The first author was the
teacher-researcher, and this study was an extension of her normal work in the classroom. The
class had twenty-seven students, and the study used data from the twenty-four students who
returned signed informed consent and assent forms with permission to participate in the study
and were present each day. The demographics of the sample included Caucasian, Hispanic,
African American, and Asian/Pacific Islander students, and were split evenly among genders
The treatment period for this research study spanned the course of five school days. The
first and last days of the study were used for pre and post assessments and attitude survey
administration. Student interviews were conducted on the final day. Each interview lasted
between five and ten minutes and included questions such as, “How do you feel about math in
the classroom?” “What have you thought about the game-based learning we have been doing?”
and “What has been your favorite/least favorite activity?” These semi-structured interviews were
The middle three days were designated as instructional days to incorporate principles of
game-based learning into classroom instruction. The periods of math instruction lasted sixty
minutes each. The instructional activities were designed and sequenced by the teacher-
researcher, based on the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. Specifically, this series of
lessons addressed Standard 5.g.2: Represent real world and mathematical problems by graphing
points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane, and interpret coordinate values of points in
During Day 2 (the first day of the game-based learning instruction) students viewed the
video, Coordinate Plane Song: Ordered Pairs Rap for Kids and clarified the vocabulary that was
presented in the video. Next, after brief instruction, the students played Battleship to reinforce
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their understanding of ordered pairs. The goal of this lesson was for students to learn vocabulary
On Day 3, the students were asked to identify at least fifteen points on a coordinate grid
and write a creative story using the emojis at those grid points to describe their coordinate path in
their Emojilicious Coordinate Story. The goal of this lesson was for students to apply their
On the final day of instruction, students rotated through a set of five stations including
Dice Game, Mission: Zombies, Connect Four, Finger Twister, and City Planner. Each of the
stations asked students to use their knowledge of ordered pairs to think critically and develop a
strategy for the particular activity. The goal of this lesson was for students to apply their
Data Collection
achievement, data were collected from interviews, video recordings, field notes, surveys, and
Measures of Attitude. Data on student attitude toward mathematics were collected through
daily surveys, student interviews, still photographs, and researcher field notes.
Daily Attitude Survey. The daily Attitude Survey was created by the teacher-researcher
and contained three questions to gauge student feelings toward the daily lessons and mathematics
in general. These followed the guidelines for a basic Likert-scale survey (Gay, Mills & Airasian
(2012). These three questions were, (1) Circle the emojis that represent how you feel about
today’s lesson (feel free to circle more than one), (2) Circle the emojis that represent how you
feel about math in general (feel free to circle more than one), and (3) What else would you like to
tell me about learning math? For the first two questions, students were provided with emojis that
correspond to each of the words: unhappy, worried, bored, surprised, good, happy, and other. For
the final question, the students were given two lines to freely express anything else they wished
to include in the survey. See Appendix A. This first survey was used as an initial baseline of each
individual student’s feelings toward everyday math lessons and math lessons in general. The
teacher-researcher also gave the students ten minutes to respond to the survey after each day of
Student Interviews. On the day following the game-based instruction, the researcher
pulled out individual students to interview them about their attitude toward game-based learning
and mathematics. Seven students were purposefully selected based on their daily interactions in
class, responses to the survey, and achievement in ordered pairs. Each interview lasted between
five and ten minutes and included questions such as, “How do you feel about math in the
classroom?”, “What have you thought about the game-based learning we have been doing?”, and
“What has been your favorite/least favorite activity?” These semi-structured interviews were
audio recorded and then transcribed. Finally, the teacher-researcher used open, axial, and
selective coding methods to select major themes on student attitude from all of the interviews.
Still Photographs and Researcher Field Notes. Each day, as the students were
completing the assigned activity, the teacher-researcher circled the room and took photographs
of the students. Following instruction, the teacher-researcher reviewed the various photographs
and compared them to her field notes for that day. She looked specifically for details and trends
that would help her to further understand student attitude toward the lesson, and mathematics in
general. These details include, but are not limited to, the facial expression of students, body
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through student assessment, student artifacts, video recordings, and researcher field notes.
pretest, midtest, and posttest. The pretest was administered by the teacher-researcher at the start
of the class on the first day of instruction. Based on the state standards, the pretest contained ten
questions. The first five questions asked students to name an ordered pair from a point on a
graph, while the final five asked students to plot a point on a graph using only the name of the
ordered pair. Students were given ten minutes to complete the assessment.
The midtest occurred on day two of instruction and was comprised of a cross-curricular
game-based activity that asked students to identify at least fifteen points on a coordinate grid and
write a creative story using the emojis at those grid points to describe their coordinate path. The
researcher allowed students forty minutes to complete the entire activity. These Emojilicious
Coordinate Worksheets were then graded on the accuracy of the placement of student coordinate
points and the corresponding details that the students described in their coordinate stories.
Twenty-three students with permission to participate in the research were in class and able to
complete the midtest activity. A class average was computed from all of the students’ scores.
The posttest was administered by the teacher-researcher on the day following completion
of the unit. The posttest was identical to the pretest that was given to the students at the start of
the unit. This consistency in the two assessments allowed the researcher to determine how much
growth each student made throughout the unit. Students were given ten minutes to complete the
assessment. Twenty-four students with permission to participate in the research were in class and
able to take the assessment. A class average for the posttest was computed and compared with
Student Artifacts. Student work from all daily activities was collected at the completion
of the class period. These artifacts include, but are not limited to, the Battleship activity sheets,
the Emojilicious Coordinate Stories, the coordinate plane guided notes, the City Planner
worksheet, and the zombie hunting activity. The researcher examined the student work for trends
in achievement among the students. Some of these trends included common student errors,
percent completion, attention to detail, and overall grade for each piece of work.
Video Recordings. During the daily classroom activities, the teacher-researcher walked
around the room with a notepad and made bullet point notes based on student engagement,
student participation, and students’ interesting comments or ideas. Following the data collection
period, the teacher-researcher coded these notes for themes surrounding student achievement.
Additionally, the teacher-researcher positioned a still video camera in the classroom each day to
record teacher instruction and daily activities. As the teacher-researcher reviewed the data, she
examined the videos and made notes on any details or student comments that she missed during
Measures of Attitude.
The questions on the survey were examined for common trends through open, axial, and
selective coding methods. The baseline set of surveys, handed out before game intervention, was
coded separately from the post-intervention set of surveys. Average percentages were calculated
from the twenty-four students who took the survey each day. On these baseline surveys, fifty-
four percent of students mentioned they disliked math, while sixty-seven percent of students
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wrote they were bad at math. Only seventeen percent of students who participated in the survey
said they enjoyed math. When examining the Likert-scale questions, eighty-three percent of
students circled unhappy, worried, or bored about their feelings toward math on the baseline
survey. Ninety-two percent of students’ comments and reactions grew more positive each day.
By the final day of instruction, one hundred percent of students indicated they felt either good or
The results from the survey were overwhelmingly positive. The data revealed that not
only did the students enjoy the game-based learning practices, but they also began to change
Student Interviews. All seven of the students pulled out for individual interviews
commented on how much more they enjoyed math when it was taught in the form of a game.
The three major trends that arose from the interviews were increased growth mindset, problem
solving skills, and student engagement. In terms of growth mindset, the students made comments
such as, “I am getting so much better at math now,” and “I learned a lot about ordered pairs. I
didn’t know it was possible but I understand so much more now." These comments show that the
students have begun to view their math ability as fluid, or something that could be developed
through hard work and dedication. Many of the students who originally believed they were
simply bad at math claimed in their interview that they now believe they can succeed with more
Another common theme that arose from the interviews had to do with the problem-
solving skills that were strengthened through partner interaction. When asked if the students
enjoyed working in partners, one claimed, “Yeah, I like working in partners ‘cause I think
differently from a lot of people. So having a partner is great because if I think one way about
something and they think a different way, we can put our ideas together and hopefully get
something right.” Many other students echoed this sentiment with comments such as, “I liked
being able to talk out loud while I was thinking,” and “my partner got confused one time but I
The final common trend from student interviews was increased student engagement
during various classroom activities. Some of the comments that expressed this sentiment were, “I
feel good about using games to get kids to learn math in a fun way,” and “learning math is not
my favorite but this week I loved it! Usually I don’t, but this week was great.” Another student
added, “learning math can sometimes be hard and stressful and I have problems with stressing.
When I get too stressed or worried my asthma gets bad and that scares me.” However, “this week
made math feel like there was no pressure because everyone was having fun while they were
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learning”. She mentioned that the game-based style of the math lessons increased her enjoyment
Still Photographs and Researcher Field Notes. Each day during instruction, the
researcher circled the room and briefly noted comments about student attitude. While these notes
carried important information with which the researcher could use to look back at each day, they
contained very limited data on whole-class student attitude. On the other hand, the pictures that
were taken daily on the digital camera revealed details about daily student attitude. Of the
seventy-three photographs that were taken by the researcher during the course of the unit, there
are four wide shots of all the students in the room that are very telling in terms of student
engagement and achievement. In each of these photos, every visible student is completely on
task.
Measures of Achievement.
through student assessment at pretest, midtest, and posttest. See Figures 2 and 3. The average
student score on the pretest assessment was 55.95 percent. This average was calculated from the
scores of the twenty-three students who took the pretest. The scores for the pretest ranged from
On the midtest assessment, the average score was 86.38 percent. This score was
calculated from the twenty-three students who were present to complete the midtest assignment.
The scores for this midtest ranged from sixty-five to one hundred percent. Twenty out of twenty-
one students who completed both the pretest and the midtest saw an increase in their score from
one to the next. The average increase from the pretest to the midtest for all individual students
The average posttest score was 96.14 percent. Twenty-four students were present to take
this posttest in class. The scores for the posttest ranged from seventy-five to one hundred
percent. All students, with the exception of one, saw a large increase in their score from the
pretest to the posttest. The average individual score increase was 39.5 points from the pretest to
the posttest.
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Artifacts. The many artifacts consisted of all the written work that was done by the
students throughout the week. These worksheets and assignments were then examined by the
researcher and given a grade both for effort and for accuracy. On the first day of instruction, the
students all played Coordinate Battleship and handed in their worksheets at the end of class. The
class average for the battleship activity was an 84 percent. On the final day of instruction, the
students rotated through five separate stations where they completed various activities and games
dealing with the coordinate plane. The students demonstrated proficient knowledge of ordered
pairs during the various games and worksheets. There were only 11 worksheets out of a total of
122 that contained any errors with the ordered pairs. This would translate to a class average of 91
comments and conversations the teacher-researcher would have missed otherwise. The teacher-
researcher classified interesting comments from these video clips as either “aha moments,”
declarations of ease, or peer corrections. The recordings categorized as “aha moments” include
student comments such as, “Ohh, that makes sense now,” “Oops, I did that one wrong,” and
“Good point. I didn’t think of that before!” These comments are clearly indicative of students
thinking through their mathematical understandings. They also show the value of collaborative
work as the conversations with peers result in deeper thinking. Some of the comments from the
declarations of ease category include, “I’m so good at this kind of math,” “Look! We didn’t
make any mistakes,” and “This is so easy." Again, this collaborative context is motivational for
students. Finally, some of the most interesting comments in the peer corrections category
include, “No, three comma four means over three then up four. You had it the other way
around,” “I think that ordered pair might be backwards,” “Are you sure I didn’t sink your ship
yet?” and “Did you double check number six?” So, competition does not negate collaboration.
Conclusion
In the interviews and surveys, many of the students expressed an initial aversion to math
that was lessened throughout the course of the game-based learning. They spoke of a looming
sense of fear toward daily math instruction. These feelings of math anxiety that students
expressed closely resembled those described by Hunt (1985). The negative attitudes that students
felt toward math on the baseline surveys also went along with the research from Leroy and
Bressoux (2016), who determined that students who struggle with low math self-esteem are the
Data from student interviews revealed attitudes indicating that incorporation of serious
games was successful because the games “make math feel like it’s not math,” and pushed many
students “to work harder than [they] normally would because the work was fun and challenging.”
The game-based learning process allowed the students to work together to tackle complex, real-
world situations. Many of the students commented on how having a partner was very beneficial
Students exhibited a clear improvement based on the growth mindset model as described
by Boaler (2016). They were more open and resilient as they developed skills and concepts. The
comments and corrections that students made during their conversations showed they had
developed a fundamental understanding of ordered pairs and the coordinate plane. The students
felt comfortable enough with the material and the collaboration to not only correct their partner
but to also explain why their partner’s thinking was invalid. These various examples, coupled
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with the dramatic increase in students’ assessment scores, showed the game-based learning
While the results from this study seem to suggest that there is a strong relationship
between game-based learning and student attitude and achievement in mathematics, there are
important limitations to note. This study was limited in the areas of size, duration, and content.
The results from the study represent the findings from one sample of students during one week of
the year, focused on one unit of the curriculum. In order to gain more significant insight into the
effects of GBL on student attitude and achievement and to control for potential extraneous
The results of this study have many implications for teachers and students in the math
classroom. The participants demonstrated significant improvements both in their attitudes about
math and their achievement in ordered pairs. Thus, this action research study corroborated the
literature surrounding the positive impact of serious games on attitude and achievement. These
results may encourage other researchers and practitioners to continue investigating. The teacher-
researcher author will definitely continue investigating and integrating game-based learning into
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