Program
Teaching M.A.
Year Approved
2017
First Advisor
Meras, Patti
Abstract
This project offers an overview of GBL and an example of GBL curriculum created for middle school math students. The study explores the question: What effects do GBL practices within curriculum have on middle school (grades 5-8) students to increase student motivation and academic success? The research suggests a positive correlation between GBL and motivation. Students who are allowed to participate in GBL are more excited and motivated to learn, as well as more confident in the skills they learn. GBL allows students to be more in control over their learning, creative, empowered, and describe learning as fun. Students also demonstrate academic improvement when playing well designed games for learning. Further research is needed to gain a more comprehensive understanding of GBL. First, a study comparing the differences between standard GBL and DGBL is needed to differentiate between the two. Also, a longitudinal study on the retention of information learned using GBL is desirable for further understand of student success. Lastly, it would be beneficial to look at the relationship between students’ socioeconomic status and GBL effectiveness.
Degree Name
Teaching M.A.
Document Type
Masterʼs thesis
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Scherer, B. G. (2017). Game-based Learning’s Effectiveness in the Middle School [Masterʼs thesis, Bethel University]. Spark Repository. https://spark.bethel.edu/etd/564