Join a discussion about designing and testing the effects of game-based products that facilitate middle school student learning of math concepts.
The goal of this session is to assist other project teams in the design and testing of game-based mathematics products. The session includes a discussion of recently completed randomized control trials of the Math Snacks games. Participants leave with concrete ideas on designing and testing e-learning products designed for classroom use with a focus on middle school concepts. This year, the Math Snacks project completed a large randomized-control trial for a game-based mathematics intervention that demonstrated significant math gains in core mathematics concepts (number operations, proportional thinking, and paired coordinates) for two experimental fifth-grade groups (n=900). Presenters share a brief about the design and testing of Math Snacks games, as well as the significant positive effects of their innovative randomized-control design, including a test for sustainability of gains. After the presentation, participants have an opportunity to answer structured open-ended prompts about designs for researching their own products, share their designs, and get input from the presenters and participants involving the testing of digital products. Implications of the project’s findings are also discussed.