Computer Games in the Math Classroom: Are You Game?

Take charge of your own restaurant! Or go on a quest to save an endangered race! All this during class time? Our pupils are engaging in these activities - virtually, of course - and learning some math at the same time.

We love a good game for the simple reason that it's fun. Wouldn't it be great if you could have fun while learning? Computer games that allow pupils to apply mathematical principles while gaming certainly fulfil this criterion.

But the market is flooded with commercially produced computer games - many are poorly designed or have unsuitable content. This can make choosing a suitable game a challenging task.

How should teachers choose computer games that will help in learning math? And will using them necessarily make learning more effective?

Using technology to support learning

In this knowledge-driven era, the use of technology as a teaching tool will only increase in importance.

Research has shown that computers can help to support learning by engaging pupils in the learning process (Roschelle, Pea, Hoadley, Gordin, & Means, 2001). There is evidence that the use of computer games is effective in getting children more motivated and engaged in learning math concepts (Egenfeldt-Nielsen, 2007).

For math, one of the aims is for pupils to develop mathematical problem-solving skills. For this, pupils need to acquire and apply math concepts and skills to solve non-routine or real-world tasks.

Computer games as a teaching tool offer the opportunity to effectively impart these math concepts and skills.

Exploring the potential of computer games

While teaching at St. Anthony’s Primary School in 2006, Ms Chang Suo Hui and her colleagues started an Internet café for the pupils.

The initial aim was to promote the Innovation and Enterprise spirit of creativity and inquiry in the pupils. During the course of running the café, however, Suo Hui discovered the potential of enhancing pupils’ learning of math through computer games.

Curious as to how commercially produced computer games can be used to teach math skills, Suo Hui embarked on an exploratory study (Chang, 2009).

She chose a few pupils to participate in this study. For 1 week, each pupil spent about 2 hours after school every day playing three selected computer games. They each kept a log of their gaming activity. An interview session was conducted after the week.

Learning skills and concepts

Suo Hui analysed how different games can help pupils learn different math skills, concepts and processes.

They learned the skill of data analysis through a role-play game, the concept of angles through an action and simulation game, and the process of looking for a pattern using an adventure and quest game.

For example, one of the games was set in a restaurant. One pupil said that by looking at the line graph, she knew that the aim was to make sure that the line representing profit should go up. This meant that the restaurant was making a profit.

Suo Hui found that pupils who were usually uninterested in math persevered at working through complex computations or problem-solving tasks. They displayed visual skills which they did not usually show in class.

Further exploration

Suo Hui, who is currently a teaching fellow with NIE's Mathematics and Mathematics Education Academic Group, cautions that more research needs to be done in this area locally.

"It is still very much at an exploratory stage, to figure out the possibility of integrating math learning and computer games," she says.

Research also shows that to make learning with computer games useful, other aspects need to be developed hand-in-hand, such as improvements in curriculum, assessment and teacher development (Roschelle et al., 2001).

It would be helpful for teachers to collaborate with researchers and curriculum specialists to make the infusion of technology into schools a success.

Teachers who are interested in incorporating game-based learning into their teaching can contact Suo Hui.

References

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