Investigating the impact of mathematics game-based learning among higher education students

Knoop, Natalee and Sime, Julie-Ann (2025) Investigating the impact of mathematics game-based learning among higher education students. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

Many Caribbean students who enter higher education (HE) do not have a firm mathematics foundation. This impacts their academic outcome. A mathematics game-based learning (GBL) intervention was conducted to investigate its impact on students' learning outcomes and learning experiences and determine the potential of GBL as a pedagogical consideration in this context. This study examines the impact of mathematics GBL on students’ academic performance, their perceived satisfaction with the elements of the self-determination theory (SDT): autonomy, competence, and relatedness, their learning experience of flow, and their perceptions of the benefits and challenges of mathematics GBL in their classroom. The intervention was conducted in an HE institution in the Caribbean among three groups of undergraduate chemistry students. This is convergent mixed methods research conducted through a pragmatic lens and employed quantitative data (pretests and posttests, students' final grades, Likert responses) and qualitative data (questionnaire and focus group) to facilitate a rounded overview to answer the research questions. Results suggest that the intervention had a statistically significant impact on students' pretest to posttest scores and did not impact their final course grades negatively; students' basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness were satisfied; and some students may have experienced flow. Overall, the students overwhelmingly enjoyed the learning experience; it was positive for their well-being; they were motivated and engaged in the learning environment, and their mathematics knowledge and understanding were enhanced, resulting from the intervention. The findings add to the theoretical discourse of flow and SDT; for example, it is possible to optimise and enjoy a learning environment even if all flow elements are not in alignment; some Caribbean students are motivated by competition and leaderboard, and autonomy, competence, and relatedness promote flow in the GBL environment. These insights can inform practitioners, policymakers, and other education stakeholders