Children building and having fun while they learn geometry

Abstract

Geometry is a basic discipline in STEM education. Recent educational reports, however, suggest that geometry is one of the subjects that sees the lowest levels of performance in the math curriculum. This paper presents a gamified itinerary through digital activities designed to teach geometry. Our aim is to attract Primary School children into the world of geometry. First, we scaffold geometry outcomes to take students progressively from basic geometric shapes to a stronger understanding of complex three‐dimensional (3D) properties. Second, we use gamification to introduce fun into the learning process. Third, we propose digital activities in virtual environments, with which students can, in particular, develop 3D spatial perception. Concretely, children are immersed in a two‐dimensional (2D)–3D world in which they play the role of architects who manipulate 2D and 3D shapes to create buildings. Results obtained in the evaluation of the system with 60 children showed an improvement in both their learning and their interest in math. Both children and teachers rated the experience very positively.

Application of gamification in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education: thematic analysis

“…As for their perception of what they had learned, according to the responses obtained in the final questionnaire, 60 % of the children perceived that they had "learned to program". In the first place, it is possible to distinguish a 45.83 % of research (Halloluwa et al, 2018;Hsu & Wang, 2018;Isayama et al, 2016;Kim et al, 2019;Lamrani & Abdelwahed, 2020;Puig et al, 2021;Quintas & Bustamante, 2021;Rawendy et al, 2017;Wardani et al, 2019;Zhao et al, 2021) that develops and implements gamified activities with the help of various electronic applications to improve the academic achievement of students in the contents of an area of knowledge. In this sense, some research such as those developed by and Quintas & Bustamante (2021) focus their objective on analysing the effects of gamified exergaming intervention on psychological variables relevant to physical education which are related with the academic achievement.…”

“…In this sense, some research such as those developed by and Quintas & Bustamante (2021) focus their objective on analysing the effects of gamified exergaming intervention on psychological variables relevant to physical education which are related with the academic achievement. Similarly, other research applies gamification and measures its effect on academic performance in aspects related to Chinese language (Rawendy et al, 2017), cube nets (Wardani et al, 2019), algorithmic thinking skills (Hsu & Wang, 2018) or geometry (Puig et al, 2021). (Quintas-Hijós et al, 2020;Riaz et al, 2019;Ríos Feliz et al, 2020) focuses on investigating the applicability of gamification in early childhood and primary education classes and the acceptance of these gamified experiences by pupils.…”

“…In the case of pupils aged ten years, 79.17 % of the sample has their participation Cruz-García, 2021;Garcia-Sanjuan et al, 2018;Hsu & Wang, 2018;Hursen & Bas, 2019;Isayama et al, 2016;Ioannou, 2019;Quintas et al, 2019;Quintas & Bustamante, 2021; Retos, número 50, 2023 (4º trimestre) Quintas-Hijós et al, 2020;Puig et al, 2021;Rawendy et al, 2017;Riaz et al, 2019;Ríos Félix et al, 2020;Ros Morente et al, 2018;Su & Cheng, 2015;Sudarmilah et al, 2020;Wardani et al, 2019;Zhao et al, 2021). Furthermore, eleven-year-old students are included in 70.83 % of the studies Cruz García et al, 2021;Gómez-García et al, 2020;Isayama et al, 2016;Ioannou, 2019;Quintas & Bustamante, 2021;Quintas-Hijós et al, 2020;Lamrani & Abdelwahed, 2020;Rawendy et al, 2017;Riaz et al, 2019;Ríos Félix et al, 2020;Ros Morente et al, 2018;Su & Cheng, 2015;Wardani et al, 2019;Zhao et al, 2021).…”

“…Finally, students aged twelve years participate in 62.50 % of the sample Cruz-García et al, 2021;Garcia-Sanjuan et al, 2018;Garmen et al, 2019;Gómez-García et al, 2020;Halloluwa et al, 2018;Hsu & Wang, 2018;Hursen, & Cizem, 2019;Isayama et al, 2016;Ioannou, 2019;Kim et al, 2019;Lamrani & Abdelwahed, 2020;Puig et al, 2021;Riaz et al, 2019;Quintas & Bustamante, 2021;Rawendy et al, 2017;Ríos Félix et al, 2020;Ros Morente et al, 2018;Sudarmilah et al, 2020;Wardani et al, 2019;Zhao et al, 2021).…”

Teacher's strategy in efforts to improve digital literacy skills of children aged 7-8 years

“…Children at this age enjoy exploring, reading, reasoning, solving problems, and communicating through conversation. Most early childhood children have a high level of confidence and understanding of digital technology because they have been interacting and exposed to technology since they were born (Chan et al, 2022;Puig et al, 2022). Digital technology can improve cooperation between children and encourage children to learn from each other.…”