The Future of Education

In the digital age we are in, technological opportunities are effective in accessing and structuring information in education and training environments of individuals who learn [1]. In this respect, this rapid change in educational technology diversifies the objects used in learning environments and materials used in teaching, brings them to a better equipped state, as well as directs them to technology and innovations [2]. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effect of educational digital games prepared by the researcher to be used in teaching the subject of “Fractions” in the primary school 4th grade mathematics lesson on students' success in mathematics lesson. The study group of the research consisted of 46 students studying in the 4th grade of a private school located in Ankara in the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. This study was conducted according to the pre-test post-test control group quasi-experimental design [3]. Participants from whom data were gathered were identified through purposive sampling [4]. The “Fractions Achievement Test” was used as data collection tools in the study. Before starting the research process, the groups were randomly assigned as the experimental (N=24) and control (N=22) groups, respectively. In both groups, the achievement test was applied as pre-tests to the students. Next, during the 5 weeks, the experimental group was informed that the course would be taught using educational digital games whereas educational films were not used in the control group. In the experimental group, each lesson was taught by having students playing a 5-to-10-minute digital games about the subject at the beginning, midway through, or at the end of a lesson each week. At the end of the application process, the same achievement test was applied to the students as a post-test. SPSS 21 statistical analysis program was used to analyze the quantitative data obtained from the study. Independent samples t-test was used to analysis of data. According to the results obtained from the study there was no significant difference between the achievement test mean pre-test scores of the students in the experimental and control groups. In addition, there was a significant difference between the achievement test mean post-test scores in favor of the experimental group.

Keywords: digital game, distance education, mathematic, fractions.

References:

1. Buluş Kırıkkaya, E. & Şentürk, M. (2018). Güneş sistemi ve ötesi ünitesinde artırılmış gerçeklik teknolojisi kullanılmasının öğrenci akademik başarısına etkisi. Kastamonu Eğitim Dergisi, 26(1), 181-189.
2. Koşar, E. & Yüksel, S. (2005). Öğretim teknolojileri ve materyal geliştirme. Ankara: Öğreti Pegem Yayıncılık.
3. Cook T.D. & Campbell D.T. (1979). Quasi-Experimentation: design and analysis issues for field settings. Dallas: Houghton Mifflin.
4. Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.