(fig.: Grendel Games, „Garfield’s Count Me in“, 2016)
„Peter buys 10 eggs at the market, at home he makes scrambled eggs for him and simon with 2 eggs each – how many eggs are left afterwards?“ – we all remember the story problems from our school time. Story problems put the otherwise often rather abstract math problems into a (more or less) relatable context, making the matter more tangible. In these kind of problems students need to understand the question, decode the given information and find the right methods to come up with the answer. They are more engaging than a plain formula to solve and are urging students to think about the problem at hand in a much broader way, connecting information and training mathematical comprehension. (1)
Gamebased-learning follows a similar approach as it intends to engage players in a challenge, have them filter out the information relevant to the problem and consider different approaches to solving it. So in a way math video games are just advanced (probably more fun) story problems. (1)
A Stanford study from 2015 suggests that digital math games can improve students‘ number sense, problem solving skills and algorithmic thinking up to 20.5% if played additional to their regular math classes. The researchers even presented the students with a final problem, they could not solve with the technique taught in class to test their mathematical comprehension and problem solving skills. Students surpassed expectations after playing the chosen digital math game for just ten minutes, 3 days a week, for four weeks. (2)
Examples for digital math games:
- „Wuzzit Trouble“, the game used in the Stanford study. It provides players with various math problems in order to free the Wuzzits from traps. https://www.brainpop.com/games/wuzzittrouble/
- „Garfield’s Count Me in“ by dutch company Grendel Games. It teaches math by sending the player on a mission to save a virtual friend by solving different level math problems. https://www.grendel-games.com/game/garfields-count-me-in/?lang=en
Sources:
- Muenzenberger, Amber; triseum, Math Video Games, Today’s Modern Story Problems, 2017, https://triseum.com/math-video-games-todays-modern-story-problems-triseum-blog/
- Shaprio, Jordan; Forbes, Stanford Study Shows Dramatic Math Improvement From Playing Video Games Just 10 Minutes Per Day, 27.04.2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2015/04/27/stanford-study-shows-dramatic-math-improvement-from-playing-video-games-just-10-minutes-per-day/#6a010a5be536
