Acquisition of Numeracy Knowledge through a Computer Game

The use of technology in teaching and learning mathematics is not new. The view of how technology should be used in the mathematical classroom is affected, among others, by changes in the community. A form of technological tool that is becoming popular in teaching and learning mathematics is the use of technology-based games. Many educators are interested in developing instructional games in Mathematics to engage today’s children in a fun way of learning. However, the process required for developing a game that is both engaging and instructionally effective remains elusive. This study aimed to investigate pupils’ level of acquisition of numeracy knowledge in a specially developed computer game called Numeraction. The game supports major components in numeracy, namely mental computation, visual thinking and number sense. The ga mehas a response system for recording and displaying the pupils’ scores. Participants of this study were 971 pupils from fifteen primary schools in the state of Selangor in Malaysia. Questionnaires were distributed to the students after they played the Numeraction game. Learners’ perception in terms of motivation and engagement and their views of the game design were scrutinized. The relationship between their perception (in terms of motivation and engagement) and the level of acquisition of knowledge was also examined. Results showed that 34.2% variations in the acquisition of knowledge from the game were reliably explained from the independent variables, namely the game design, motivation and engagement.