Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

• F. Esfandiyar
• K. Salehi
• F. Seraji

Department of Methods, Educational Planning and Curriculum, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The rapid transformation in technology and the evolving lifestyles of the new generation have significantly exposed today's students to the "digital divide." This divide has led students to seek more interactive, engaging, and personalized learning methods. Digital educational games are powerful tools for bridging this gap and providing captivating learning experiences. This research aimed to investigate the impact of game-based educational applications (apps) on facilitating mathematics learning among second-grade elementary students.
Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and a control group. The statistical population comprised of all female second-grade elementary students in Firoozkooh during the 2023-2024 academic year. The research sample was conveniently selected from Golehaye Behesht Girls' Elementary School, consisting of two intact natural classes. Specifically, two classes out of the three second-grade classes in this school were chosen, with one class randomly assigned to the experimental group and the other to the control group. The primary educational tool used in this study was the "Chakmeh" digital game, developed by the researcher using the Unity game engine. Unity is a robust and flexible engine for creating both 2D and 3D games. The game comprised 52 pages and featured four educational stages based on the concepts of process-oriented addition and subtraction from the second-grade mathematics textbook (place value, number patterns, introductory addition and subtraction, and advanced addition and subtraction). A researcher-made mathematics test was used to assess process-oriented addition and subtraction concepts. The experimental group received instruction for 18 sessions based on a curriculum designed according to the Karbasi-Jiménez model, utilizing the new game-based teaching method with the "Chakmeh" digital game. In contrast, the control group was taught using traditional methods. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics, specifically univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).
Findings: The results of the ANCOVA revealed that students in the experimental group, who learned using the "Chakmeh" digital game, showed significant improvement in learning process-oriented addition and subtraction concepts compared to the control group (p<0.0001). The effect size (η2=0.43) indicated that 43% of the variance in students' mathematics scores could be attributed to the use of the educational game. Furthermore, the calculated Cohen's d (1988) of approximately d≈1.74 falls into the category of a large effect. These findings demonstrated the effectiveness of digital game-based learning in facilitating mathematics concepts for second-grade elementary students.
Conclusion: The findings of this research suggest that the implementation of game-based educational applications is an effective method for facilitating the mathematics learning process and enhancing motivation among elementary students. Given these results, the design of such applications should be based on the individual needs of students and used as a supplement to traditional teaching methods. Overall, this study indicates that using gamification in mathematics education has high potential and capacity for improving learning and increasing student motivation. Therefore, it is recommended that this tool be used more extensively alongside other methods, and with consideration for individual student characteristics, to enhance the quality of learning and overcome the limitations of traditional approaches.

Keywords

• Digital Divide
• Digital Educational Game
• Mathematics Learning
• Procedural Addition and Subtraction
• Quasi-Experimental Method

Main Subjects

• Educational computer games

COPYRIGHTS 
© 2025 The Author(s).  This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)