Graduation Year

2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Curriculum and Instruction

Major Professor

Sanghoon Park, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Yiping Lou, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Robert Dedrick, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Ruthmae Sear, Ph.D.

Keywords

motivation, ARCS, GBL, instructional technology, serious games

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to design, develop, and test the effects of digital game-based learning on undergraduate students’ learning motivation, mathematics achievement, and learning retention in a college algebra course. Digital games utilize interactive digital media that offer rules-based challenges and react to the individual’s choices. Digital games have been used in preschool, K-12, higher education, and workplace environments in a wide range of subject areas, including language arts, secondary language acquisition, social studies, science, and math. Specifically, the effectiveness of digital game-based learning on students’ learning and motivation has been studied in college-level mathematics courses. However, previous studies have largely ignored specific design attributes that affect student motivation and their desired learning outcome goals, viewing games as a monolithic variable. In developing digital games for college-level mathematics, higher priority is be placed on motivation and demonstration of learning. Designing digital games requires a large number of design elements that are well supported by existing learning theories and motivational models. This study specifically addresses the critical design elements for game-based learning and how the theory-supported design elements influence students’ learning and motivation outcomes.

Therefore, this study examined how using a digital game in a college algebra course affects motivation, learning, and retention as compared to question-based materials often used in the classroom. learning materials and a coordinating set of question-based learning materials. Both game-based learning materials and a set of question-based learning materials were designed and developed utilizing Keller’s (2010) Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction (ARCS) model of motivational design and the Successive Approximation Model (SAM) (Allen, 2012). Materials were differentiated on two major attributes: variety of interactions and cultural markers of games. Fifty-four participants were recruited from students enrolled in MAC1105: College Algebra at a large open-access state college in central Florida. Participants were randomly assigned to either a digital game-based intervention or to a digital question-based intervention to learn and practice the topic applications of systems of linear equations. Following the participants’ practice in their assigned intervention, measures of motivation and mathematics learning achievement were assessed. A mean of 2.6 days later, a measure of mathematics learning retention was also assessed. Students were rewarded with an extra credit token for their participation.

Participants’ learning motivation was measured utilizing the Instructional Materials Motivational Survey (IMMS). The IMMS is a validated measure of total motivation related to an individual or collection of instructional materials. This measure is theoretically aligned with Keller’s ARCS model for motivational design, and as such, includes sub-scores for the four major components of ARCS: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. This combination of theory, design model, and measurement tool allows for internal consistency of motivation from conceptualization to outcome measure. Further, the IMMS is a widely used instrument in the study of game-based learning, allowing direct comparisons across studies.

Differences in total motivation was not found to be statically significant at the .05 level of significance utilizing an independent means t-test. However, an effect size of d = -.24 was found in total motivation, with the question-based control group scoring higher. Similarly, the differences of motivational subscale scores were not found to be statistically significant between the two groups. Again, participants in the question-based control group scored higher on the motivational subscore measures. The largest effect size was found in the subscale of satisfaction (d = -.39) and the smallest effect size was found in the subscale of relevance (d = -.08). Mathematics learning achievement and mathematics learning retention were measured through the use of a posttest and delayed posttest, respectively. Differences in mathematics achievement were not found to be statistically significant at the .05 level of significance when analyzed independent samples t-test. Measures of mathematics achievement were found to be nearly identical while measures of mathematical learning retention showed a noticeable difference. Participants’ in the game-based treatment saw their mean score on the learning assessments decreasing from .89 to .87 between the posttest and delayed posttest while participants in the question-based control saw their scores on their learning assessments increase from .90 to .94. Power to detect differences between the digital game-based learning group and the question-based group was limited due to a smaller than planned for sample size. Additionally, a ceiling effect was indicated on the mathematics achievement assessment. Implications of this study include the addition of internal labeling of an activity as a game by the participant into the definition of game. Additionally, this study adds to the small existing research on the effect of individual attributes of games on learning motivation, mathematics achievement, and mathematics learning retention. Future research should continue to examine the individual attributes of games as well as examine what features or combination of features improve the learner’s internal labeling of an activity as a game.

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