Effect of a Virtual Environment on the Development of Mathematical Skills in Children with Dyscalculia

Abstract

In this study, we show the effectiveness of a virtual environment comprising 18 computer games that cover mathematics topics in a playful setting and that can be executed on the Internet with the possibility of player interaction through chat. An arithmetic pre-test contained in the Scholastic Performance Test was administered to 300 children between 7 and 10 years old, including 162 males and 138 females, in the second grade of primary school. Twenty-six children whose scores showed a low level of mathematical knowledge were chosen and randomly divided into the control (CG) and experimental (EG) groups. The EG participated to the virtual environment and the CG participated in reinforcement using traditional teaching methods. Both groups took a post-test in which the Scholastic Performance Test (SPT) was given again. A statistical analysis of the results using the Student's t-test showed a significant learning improvement for the EG and no improvement for the CG (p≤0.05). The virtual environment allows the students to integrate thought, feeling and action, thus motivating the children to learn and contributing to their intellectual development.

Games for enhancing basic reading and maths skills: A systematic review of educational game design in supporting learning by people with learning disabilities

“…As shown in Table S2, the most popular research design consisted of pretests and immediate posttests ( n = 10) with a control group ( n = 7). The control groups comprised both children with learning disabilities ( n = 4, eg, De Castro, Bissaco, Panccioni, Rodrigues, & Domingues, ) and children without the need of extra support for early number or reading skills ( n = 3, eg, Salminen, Koponen, Räsänen, & Aro, ). The features of the control group, such as the correspondence to the experimental group and the support offered for the control group, are relevant for making conclusions concerning the effects of the game (Mohd Syah, Hamzaid, Murphy, & Lim, ).…”

“…Instead of effect sizes, the game design studies (eg, Wilson et al ., ) typically reported whether there was a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest results ( n = 6). Three of these studies (eg, De Castro et al ., ) did not report an interaction effect; they only compared pretest and posttest results separately for the experimental and control groups. Altogether, five studies (and five different games) reported at least some improvements in reading skills.…”

Educational Game Design for Improving the Children with Number Sense

“…In addition, Clark and Mayer [7] focused only on used the words to teach the children counting and guessing without considering that merging of figures, words, and visuals with formulas enhances the illustration side to teach counting and guess of number sense [7]. Moreover, there are many difficulties to use these mobile games that appear with some limited features [19]. Where, these games are not compatible with overall symptoms of number sense, especially related with the user interface design, a language and the busy screen [20].…”

Digital Games and Mathematics Learning

“…They then carried out a study with 193 students using a game DimensionM for teaching algebra. Castro et al (2014) developed a range of games to help children with Dyscalculia (mathematical learning disabilities). The outcomes were significant, but the effect on motivation as measured was weak.…”