Abstract
Collaborative mathematical argumentation plays an important role in mathematics education. However, students often focus on the efficiency of solving problems and neglect the importance of expressing statements and reasoning in the collaborative argumentation process. Due to the weak knowledge changes in group argumentation, students' learning motivation, tendency to collaborate, and learning achievement hardly improve during this process. To this end, we developed a gamified collaborative argumentation approach (GCA) that incorporates multiple gamification mechanisms to encourage students to participate in group arguments and express their arguments. Through technology-assisted gamification interventions, the teacher rewarded the students' collaborative argumentation performance during the activity; meanwhile, the students tracked their individual and group learning performance and improved the quality of their group arguments, which motivated them to contribute to the team. A 4-week empirical study was conducted to examine the impact of this learning model on fifth-grade students' mathematics learning. The students in the experimental group (N = 26) learned with the conventional collaborative argumentation approach (CCA) in the first 2 weeks (560 min), and learned with the GCA approach in the last 2 weeks (560 min), while the control group (N = 26) was taught using the conventional collaborative argumentation approach (CCA). The results indicated that students' learning achievement, mathematical learning motivation, and tendency to collaborate in mathematics significantly improved with the aid of GCA. The lag sequential pattern analysis showed that the gamification mechanism encouraged students to analyze the solutions again and reconfirm the definition of the mathematical problems. Accordingly, it was found that the gamified approach stimulated students to be more careful in considering the best solution and actively participate in the argumentation, which fulfills the goal of collaborative mathematical argumentation.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
The data and materials are available upon request to the corresponding author.
References
Akinbobola, A. O. (2009). Enhancing students’ attitude towards Nigerian senior secondary school physics through the use of cooperative, competitive and individualistic learning strategies. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 34(1), 1–9.
Bado, N., & Franklin, T. (2014). Cooperative game-based learning in the English as a foreign language classroom. In Issues and trends in educational technology, 2(2). University of Arizona Libraries Retrieved June 13, 2021 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/150765/
Bai, S. R., Hew, K. F., & Huang, B. Y. (2020). Does gamification improve student learning outcome? Evidence from a meta-analysis and synthesis of qualitative data in educational contexts. Educational Research Review, 30, 100322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100322
Bai, S., Hew, K. F., Gonda, D. E., Huang, B., & Liang, X. (2022). Incorporating fantasy into gamification promotes student learning and quality of online interaction. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 19(1), 1–26.
Bakeman, R., & Gottman, J. M. (1997). Observing interaction: An introduction to sequential analysis (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Beed, P. L., Hawkins, E. M., & Roller, C. M. (1991). Moving learners toward independence: The power of scaffolded instruction. The Reading Teacher, 44(9), 648–655.
Bellotti, F., Berta, R., Gloria, A. D., Lavagnino, E., Antonaci, A., Dagnino, F. M., & Ott, M. (2013, July). A gamified short course for promoting entrepreneurship among ict engineering students. In Paper presented at 2013 IEEE 13th international conference on advanced learning technologies.
Cameron, J., & Pierce, W. D. (2002). Rewards and intrinsic motivation: Resolving the controversy. Bergin & Garvey.
Chang, S. C., & Hwang, G. J. (2017). Development of an effective educational computer game based on a mission synchronization-based peer-assistance approach. Interactive Learning Environments, 25(5), 667–681.
Chen, K. H., & Hoffman, J. (2017). Serious play: Transforming futures thinking through game-based curriculum design. Journal of Futures Studies, 22(2), 41–60.
Clark, M. C., & Rossiter, M. (2008). Narrative learning in adulthood. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2008(119), 61–70.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Erlbaum.
Darmawansah, D., Lin, C.-J., & Hwang, G.-J. (2022). Empowering the collective reflection-based argumentation mapping strategy to enhance students’ argumentative speaking. Computers & Education, 184, 104516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2022.104516
Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (2001). Extrinsic rewards and intrinsic motivation in education: Reconsidered once again. Review of Educational Research, 71(1), 1–27.
Demiray, E., Isiksal-Bostan, M., & Saygi, E. (2023). Components of collective argumentation in geometric construction tasks. Turkish Journal of Education, 12(1), 50–71. https://doi.org/10.19128/turje.1176981
Deterding, S., Khaled, R., Nacke, L. E., & Dixon, D. (2011). Gamification: Toward a definition. CHI2011 Gamification Workshop Proceedings, May 7–12, 2011 (pp. 12–15). BC, Canada, ACM: Vancouver.
Gagné, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 331–362.
Gunawardhana, L. P. D., & Palaniappan, S. (2015). Psychology of digital games and its effects to its users. Creative Education, 6(16), 1726–1732.
Hennessey, B., Moran, S., Altringer, B., & Amabile, T. M. (2015). Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, 11, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118785317.weom110098
Hernandez Sibo, I. P., Gomez Celis, D. A., Liou, S., Koh, B., & Leung, A. K. Y. (2023). The role of argumentation on high- and low-creative performing groups: A structuration analysis of undergraduate students’ group discussion. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 47, 101217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2022.101217
Huang, B. Y., & Hew, K. F. (2018). Implementing a theory-driven gamification model in higher education flipped courses: Effects on out-of-class activity completion and quality of artifacts. Computers & Education, 125, 254–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.06.018
Hwang, G. J., Yang, T. C., Tsai, C. C., & Yang, S. J. H. (2009). A context-aware ubiquitous learning environment for conducting complex science experiments. Computers & Education, 53(2), 402–413.
Hwang, G. J., Lai, C. L., Liang, J. C., Chu, H. C., & Tsai, C. C. (2018). A long-term experiment to investigate the relationships between high school students’ perceptions of mobile learning and peer interaction and higher-order thinking tendencies. Educational Technology Research & Development, 66(1), 75–93.
Inglis, M., Mejia-Ramos, J. P., & Simpson, A. (2007). Modelling mathematical argumentation: The importance of qualification. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 66, 3–21.
Jong, B., Lai, C. H., Hsia, Y. T., Lin, T. W., & Lu, C. Y. (2013). Using game-based cooperative learning to improve learning motivation: A study of online game use in an operating systems course. IEEE Transactions on Education, 56, 183–190. https://doi.org/10.1109/TE.2012.2207959
Kaya, O. S., & Ercag, E. (2023). The impact of applying challenge-based gamification program on students’ learning outcomes: Academic achievement, motivation and flow. Education and Information Technologies, 28, 1–26.
Krummheuer, G. (2007). Argumentation and participation in the primary mathematics classroom: Two episodes and related theoretical abductions. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 26(1), 60–82.
Krummheuer, G. (2018). The genesis of children’s mathematical thinking in their early years. In C. Benz, A. S. Steinweg, H. Gasteiger, P. Schöner, H. Vollmuth, & J. Zöllner (Eds.), Mathematics education in the early years: Results from the POEM3 conference, 2016 (pp. 111–122). Springer International Publishing.
Landrieu, Y., De Smedt, F., Van Keer, H., & De Wever, B. (2023). Argumentation in collaboration: The impact of explicit instruction and collaborative writing on secondary school students’ argumentative writing. Reading and Writing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-023-10439-x
Maican, C., Lixandroiu, R., & Constantin, C. (2016). Interactivia. ro–A study of a gamification framework using zero-cost tools. Computers in Human Behavior, 61, 186–197.
Matsumoto, T. (2016). Motivation strategy using gamification. Creative Education, 7(10), 1480–1485.
McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world. Penguin.
Mirza, N. M., & Perret-Clermont, A. N. (Eds.). (2009). Argumentation and education: Theoretical foundations and practices. Springer Science & Business Media.
Nagel, K., & Reiss, K. (2016). Between school and university: Mathematical argumentation. Zeitschrift Fur Erziehungswissenschaft, 19(2), 299–327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-016-0677-3
Nielsen, J. A. (2013). Dialectical features of students’ argumentation: A critical review of argumentation studies in science education. Research in Science Education, 43(1), 371–393.
Papadakis, S., Zourmpakis, A. I., & Kalogiannakis, M. (2023). Analyzing the impact of a gamification approach on primary students' motivation and learning in science education. In M. E. Auer, W. Pachatz, & T. Rüütmann (Eds.), Learning in the age of digital and green transition: Proceedings of the 25th international conference on interactive collaborative learning (ICL2022) (Vol. 1, pp. 701–711). Springer International Publishing.
Pintrich, P. R. (1991). A manual for the use of the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire (MSLQ).
Reuter, F. (2023). Explorative mathematical argumentation: A theoretical framework for identifying and analysing argumentation processes in early mathematics learning. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 112(3), 415–435. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-022-10199-5
Rumsey, C., & Langrall, C. W. (2016). Promoting mathematical argumentation. Teaching Children Mathematics, 22(7), 412–419.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
Şen, M., Sungur, S., & Öztekin, C. (2023). Exploration of middle school students’ scientific epistemological beliefs and their engagement in argumentation. The Journal of Educational Research, 116, 1–16.
Taslidere, E., & Yıldırım, B. (2023). Effect of conceptual change-oriented instruction on students’ conceptual understanding and attitudes towards simple electricity. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 21(5), 1567–1589. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-022-10319-w
Tristanti, L. B. (2019). The process of thinking by prospective teachers of mathematics in making arguments. Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn), 13(1), 17–24.
Tristanti, L. B., & Nusantara, T. (2022). The Influence of Infusion Learning Strategy on Students’ Mathematical Argumentation Skill. International Journal of Instruction, 15(2), 277–292.
TucelDeprem, S. T., Çakıroğlu, J., Öztekin, C., & Kıngır, S. (2023). Effectiveness of argument-based inquiry approach on Grade 8 students’ science content achievement, metacognition, and epistemological beliefs. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 21(4), 1057–1079. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-022-10299-x
Voss, J. F., & Means, M. L. (1991). Learning to reason via instruction in argumentation. Learning and Instruction, 1(4), 337–350.
Walton, N. D. (1990). What is Reasoning? What is an Argument? The Journal of Philosophy, 87(8), 399–419.
Werbach, K., & Hunter, D. (2012). For the win: How game thinking can revolutionize your business. Wharton digital press.
Zhou, D. H. (2023). “Learn to Argue” and “Argue to Learn”: Meta-analysis of effective instructional design for online scientific argumentation activities. Interactive Learning Environments. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2023.2205904
Zourmpakis, A. I., Papadakis, S., & Kalogiannakis, M. (2022). Education of preschool and elementary teachers on the use of adaptive gamification in science education. International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 14(1), 1–16.
Zourmpakis, A. I., Kalogiannakis, M., & Papadakis, S. (2023). A review of the literature for designing and developing a framework for adaptive gamification in physics education. In M. F. Taşar & P. R. L. Heron (Eds.), The international handbook of physics education research: Teaching physics (p. 5–1–5–26). AIP Publishing.
Funding
This study is supported in part by the National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan under contract number NSTC 111–2410-H-152 -006 -MY2.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Conceptualization: [Wei-Cheng Lee, Chiu-Lin Lai]; Data curation: [Wei-Cheng Lee]; Formal Analysis: [Wei-Cheng Lee, Chiu-Lin Lai]; Investigation: [Wei-Cheng Lee]; Methodology: [Wei-Cheng Lee, Chiu-Lin Lai]; Writing – original draft: [Wei-Cheng Lee]; Writing – review & editing: [Wei-Cheng Lee, Chiu-Lin Lai].
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics Approval
All the procedure performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Consent to Participate
The participants all agreed to take part in this study.
Consent for Publication
The publication of this study has been approved by all authors.
Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests
There is no potential conflict of interest in this study.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Lee, WC., Lai, CL. Facilitating Mathematical Argumentation by Gamification: A Gamified Mobile Collaborative Learning Approach for Math Courses. Int J of Sci and Math Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-024-10462-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-024-10462-6