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Students’ perceptions of the learning environment and attitudes in game-based mathematics classrooms

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Abstract

We investigated whether the introduction of games into college-level mathematics classes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was effective in terms of improving students’ perceptions of the learning environment and their attitudes towards of mathematics. A pre–post design involved the administration of English and Arabic versions of two surveys (one to assess students’ perceptions of the learning environment and the other to assess their attitudes) after modification to ensure their relevance for college-level mathematics students in the UAE. For a sample of 33 classes (352 students), eight of which (90 students) were exposed to mathematics games, students involved in mathematics games perceived statistically significantly more teacher support, involvement, personal relevance, enjoyment of mathematics lessons and academic efficacy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia

    Ernest Afari, Jill M. Aldridge & Barry J. Fraser

  2. Bahrain Teachers’ College, Sakhir, Bahrain

    Myint Swe Khine

  3. The Petroleum Institute, PO Box 2533, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Ernest Afari

Authors
  1. Ernest Afari
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  2. Jill M. Aldridge
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  3. Barry J. Fraser
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  4. Myint Swe Khine
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Correspondence to Ernest Afari.

Appendix

Appendix

See Appendix Tables 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Table 5 English and Arabic versions of What is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire
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Table 6 English and Arabic versions of attitude scales
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Table 7 Factor loadings, percentage of variance, eigenvalues, internal consistency reliability (alpha coefficient) and ability to differentiate between classrooms (ANOVA results) for the modified WIHIC
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Table 8 Factor loadings, percentage of variance, eigenvalues and internal consistency reliability (alpha coefficient) for Enjoyment of Mathematics Lessons and Academic Efficacy scales
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Afari, E., Aldridge, J.M., Fraser, B.J. et al. Students’ perceptions of the learning environment and attitudes in game-based mathematics classrooms. Learning Environ Res 16, 131–150 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-012-9122-6

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