An Empirical Approach to Developing Web-based Math Learning Games to Improve Elementary School Student Outcomes

The project will develop web-based math learning games that cover the National Council for the Teaching of Mathematics curriculum focal points for elementary school students. The games are intended to supplement existing in-class curricular materials and will address topics including fractions, place value and estimation, numeric operations, algebra functions and operations, measurement geometry, and statistics data analysis and probability. After prototypes of the software platform and games are developed, a series of iterative pilot studies will be conducted to gather feedback from students and teachers. Results from this research will be used to refine the components and features of the program. Six games will be developed and each will include multiplayer and progress monitoring functionality. A final pilot study will be carried out in 12 classrooms over a 6-week period to assess the feasibility and usability of the platform, and the promise of the six games to improve learning. Students will be given pre and post assessments. Teachers will be observed and will provide surveys to determine the fidelity of implementation.