Children are born with an intrinsic motivation to play games. Over the past decade, educational video games have invaded mainstream classroom instruction and researchers are “considering how games might be used in pursuit of engaging, effective learning experiences� (Squire and Jenkins, 2003). This research encompasses designing math games using a constructivist and embodied cognition pedagogy in an effort to answer the question: “Will overlapping wearable technology and mathematical objectives with traditional children’s games show improved efficacy in students’ math skills and increase students’ motivation to learn math in 4th thru 6th grade students?� Methods of research include a usability study and four subsequent iterative studies to improve the game and the technology, measuring students’ math self-efficacy and motivation to learn math. The final goal of this thesis is to design, test and document an engaging children’s math learning game using wearable technology that requires active physical experiences while involved in deep thinking and complex problem solving (Gee, 2003) within real world environments, beyond classrooms, pencil and paper, and even beyond traditional computer games in front of a computer screen.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:wpi.edu/oai:digitalcommons.wpi.edu:etd-theses-1505 |
| Date | 29 April 2015 |
| Creators | Rountree, Wendy Leigh |
| Contributors | Charles Rich, Committee Member, Ivon Arroyo, Advisor, Brian J. Moriarty, Committee Member |
| Publisher | Digital WPI |
| Source Sets | Worcester Polytechnic Institute |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Masters Theses (All Theses, All Years) |
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