The effects of educational computer games on students' attitudes towards mathematics course and educational computer games

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to determine the differences of attitudes of students, who played the educational computer games developed for this research, towards both mathematics course and educational computer games. For this reason, researchers developed two educational computer games, Proportional Tetris and Proportional Clown, which are about ratio and proportion topic in mathematics education. Researchers used a survey including a demographic data form and two likert-like scales about both mathematics course and educational computer games. Educational computer games and the survey were applied to 176 students in two primary schools in Balikesir, Turkey. Whether educational computer games affected the students' attitudes towards both mathematics course and educational computer games was tested with Paired Samples t test. Whether there is a meaningful relationship between students' attitudes towards mathematics course and students' attitudes towards educational computer games was tested with Pearson Correlation test. As a result, students' attitudes towards both mathematics course and educational computer games became positive. But there wasn't any change in attitudes of students who played Proportional Tetris and Proportional Clown. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.