The use of gamification to increase motivation and assimilation of the multiplication table by fourth graders

Abstract

The article presents the results of an experimental study of the effectiveness of gamification in the process of studying the multiplication table by fourth grade students. It has been established that the integration of game mechanics into the educational process significantly increases the learning rates of educational material and transforms the structure of educational motivation. The research methodology was based on a quasiexperimental design with control (n=112) and experimental (n=118) groups of students from 8 secondary schools. Methods of pedagogical observation, testing, psychometric measurements and multidimensional statistical data analysis were used. The results indicate a significant advantage of the gamified approach: the experimental group recorded a decrease in the average playback time of the multiplication table by 49,4% (versus 22,1% in the control group), an increase in playback accuracy to 96,5% (an increase of 16.4 percentage points versus 10.1 in the control group), an increase in the index of educational motivation by 27,2% (versus 6,3% in the control group). Correlation analysis revealed a stable relationship between the improvement of educational indicators and the growth of intrinsic motivation (r=0.78, p<0.01). The most effective gamification elements have been identified: instant feedback, visualization of progress, and a system of difficulty levels. Four typological groups of students with different patterns of response to gamified learning have been identified, which creates the basis for the differentiated application of this approach in educational practice.