Beth L. MacDonald

How design features in digital math games support learning and mathematics connections

Abstract Current research shows that digital games can significantly enhance childrens learning. The purpose of this study was to examine how design features in 12 digital math games influenced childrens learning. The participants in this study were 193 children in Grades 2 through 6 (ages 8–12). During clinical interviews, children in the study completed pre-tests, interacted with digital math games, responded to questions about the digital math games, and completed post-tests. We recorded the interactions using two video perspectives that recorded childrens gameplay and responses to interviewers. We employed mixed methods to analyze the data and identify salient patterns in childrens experiences with the digital math games. The analysis revealed significant gains for 9 of the 12 digital games and most children were aware of the design features in the games. There were eight prominent categories of design features in the video data that supported learning and mathematics connections. Six categories focused on how the design features supported learning in the digital games. These categories included: accuracy feedback, unlimited/multiple attempts, information tutorials and hints, focused constraint, progressive levels, and game efficiency. Two categories were more specific to embodied cognition and action with the mathematics, and focused on how design features promoted mathematics connections. These categories included: linked representations and linked physical actions. The digital games in this study that did not include linked representations and opportunities for linked physical actions as design features did not produce significant gains. These results suggest the key role of mathematics-specific design features in the design of digital math games.

Components of place value understanding: Targeting mathematical difficulties when providing interventions. School Science and Mathematics

Place value understanding requires the same activity that students use when developing fractional and algebraic reasoning, making this understanding foundational to mathematics learning. However, many students engage successfully in mathematics classrooms without having a conceptual understanding of place value, preventing them from accessing mathematics that is more sophisticated later. The purpose of this exploratory study is to investigate how upper elementary students’ unit coordination related to difficulties they experience when engaging in place value tasks. Understanding place value requires that students coordinate units recursively to construct multi-digit numbers from their single-digit number understandings through forms of unit development and strategic counting. Findings suggest that students identified as low-achieving were capable of only one or two levels of unit coordination. Furthermore, these students relied on inaccurate procedures to solve problems with millennial numbers. These findings indicate that upper elementary students identified as low-achieving are not to yet able to (de)compose numbers effectively, regroup tens and hundreds when operating on numbers, and transition between millennial numbers. Implications of this study suggest that curricula designers and statewide standards should adopt nuances in unit coordination when developing tasks that promote or assess students’ place value understanding.