Improving rational number knowledge using the NanoRoboMath digital game

Rational number knowledge is a crucial feature of primary school mathematics that predicts students' later mathematics achievement. Many students struggle with the transition from natural number to rational number reasoning, so novel pedagogical approaches to support the development of rational number knowledge are valuable to mathematics educators worldwide. Digital game-based learning environments may support a wide range of mathematics skills. NanoRoboMath, a digital game-based learning environment, was developed to enhance students' conceptual and adaptive rational number knowledge. In this paper, we tested the effectiveness of a preliminary version of the game with fifth and sixth grade primary school students (N = 195) using a quasi-experimental design. A small positive effect of playing the NanoRoboMath game on students' rational number conceptual knowledge was observed. Students' overall game performance was related to learning outcomes concerning their adaptive rational number knowledge and understanding of rational number representations and operations

Eating Pizza to learn fractions

Mathematics is often a hard subject for children, especially because they are usually not able to perceive any concrete connection between math and the real world. There is a rift between what they do for fun ad what they are required to do at school. This is partially due to the concrete aspects of the activities they do in those two contexts, which are inherently different of course. But it is also due to a deep difference in the means which are used since children prefer to learn from pictures, sounds and videos, as some recent studies have shown. For this reason, we implemented \u201cPizza al Lancio\u201d, a serious game to help children understand fractions, in particular equivalent and complementary fractions. The game tells the story of a hungry delivery boy who happens to eat some slice of pizza while transporting it, and so he asks the player for help in order to avoid delivering incomplete pizzas. The game has been tested with two groups of primary school pupils. \ua9 2018 Association for Computing Machinery