A Pilot study to assess the impacts of game-based construction learning, using scratch, on students’ multi-step equation-solving performance

ABSTRACT

This study examined the effects of students’ construction of computer-based educational games, using Scratch, on their mathematical equation-solving performance and their attitudes towards learning mathematics with the assistance of technology. A one-group, pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study design, was adopted. A total of 89 seventh grade students from three classes at a public school in Beijing, China, offering 9 years of compulsory education, participated in Scratch-based mathematical game-making activities. Data were collected via an equations-solving test, surveys, interviews and member checking, and pairwise t-tests were performed for data analysis. The results indicated significant improvements in students’ equation-solving performance and in their attitudes towards learning mathematics with the assistance of technology.

KEYWORDS:

• Scratch
• mathematic games
• equation-solving
• learning attitudes

Acknowledgments

The researcher did not ask for the children’s names and any reference to them. The authors can state explicitly that there was no conflict of interest in the work reported here. I would like to declare on behalf of my co-authors that the work described was original research that has not been published previously, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr Feng-kuang Chiang is a distinguished professor in the Department of Educational Technology at Shanghai Normal University, China. His research focused on STEM education, learning space and integration of information technology and curriculum.

Lian Qin is a STEM teacher in Beijing Academy and she graduated from Beijing Normal University in 2017, China. She had worked for 4 years as a mathematical teacher in an elementary school before she was a graduate student.

ORCID

Feng-kuang Chiang http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6010-6048

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Beijing Wangjing Experiment School [grant number KJHX2015322]; The National Education Science “13th Five-Year plan” key research topics of Ministry of Education [grant number DCA170309].