Connecting the dots: Understanding the interrelated impacts of type, quality and children's awareness of design features and the mathematics content learning goals in digital math games and related learning outcomes.

This study focused on an examination of how type, quality and children's awareness of design features in digital math games, along with an awareness of the mathematics goals of the game, were related to learning outcomes. We conducted a parallel conversion mixed methods study with 45 students in Gra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Computer Assisted Learning Vol. 37; no. 2; pp. 557 - 587
Main Authors: Bullock, Emma P., Roxburgh, Allison L., Moyer‐Packenham, Patricia S., Bektas, Elif, Webster, Joseph S., Bullock, Kathleen A.
Format: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Apr2021
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Apr2021
      vid: 37
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      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
      place: Malden, Massachusetts
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        10.1111/jcal.12508
        149219018
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        atl: Connecting the dots: Understanding the interrelated impacts of type, quality and children's awareness of design features and the mathematics content learning goals in digital math games and related learning outcomes.
      aug:
        au:
          Bullock, Emma P.
          Roxburgh, Allison L.
          Moyer‐Packenham, Patricia S.
          Bektas, Elif
          Webster, Joseph S.
          Bullock, Kathleen A.
        affil: Mathematics and Statistics Department, College of Science and Engineering Technology, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville Texas, USA
      sug:
        subj:
          Mathematics
          Learning Methods
          Outcomes of Education
          Video Games
          Educational Technology
          Human
          Multimethod Studies
          Child
          Interviews
          Students, Elementary
          Qualitative Studies
          Quantitative Studies
          Chi Square Test
          Regression
          Univariate Statistics
          Bivariate Statistics
          Child: 6-12 years
      ab: This study focused on an examination of how type, quality and children's awareness of design features in digital math games, along with an awareness of the mathematics goals of the game, were related to learning outcomes. We conducted a parallel conversion mixed methods study with 45 students in Grades 3 and 4 (ages 9–10). Students participated in clinical interviews using three digital math games. The results suggest a moderated mediation relationship in which the quality of the design features moderated the mediating impact of children's awareness of the game's design features, specifically when the child was aware of the mathematics content learning goal (MCLG) of the game. These findings show how important it is that design features are of high quality in a digital math game, and how this is intertwined with children's awareness of the features and the MCLG. When these variables intertwined in just the right way, the interactions between the children and the digital math game afforded mathematical learning growth. Lay Description: What is currently known about the subject matter: Some game features, and the types of representations designed into the games, may have a greater impact than others.Some design features provide general learning support, and some provide specific mathematics support.There is a relationship between the subject (i.e., a child), the artefact (i.e., a digital math game) and the object (i.e., the mathematics).Understanding that relationship is complex because there are no clear‐cut variables that can be isolated; rather, these variables need to be considered together. What our paper adds to this subject matter: Seven classifications of design feature types were coded in digital math games.Children's awareness of the mathematics content learning goal (MCLG) matters in conjunction with their awareness of the design features.High‐quality features, that are directly related to the MCLG, matter.The complex variable interactions help explain children's learning outcomes. Implications of study findings for practitioners: Even if a child had an awareness of the MCLG and high feature awareness, if the movements (either physically or mentally) associated with those features were of low‐quality with respect to the MCLG, this did not afford growth.Understanding these relationships can help practitioners select high‐quality digital math games for children's use in both classroom settings and at home.Understanding these relationships can also help game designers create more high‐quality digital math games.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        pictorial
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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