Development of numbers adventure gamification in mathematics subjects for elementary schools

Source abstract

In elementary school mathematics, students often struggle to distinguish, name, and identify numbers. Simple gamification tools, such as the "Snakes and Ladders" game, serve as learning media that support the development of fundamental cognitive skills, including number recognition and problem-solving. This study aimed to develop and test the feasibility of the "Numbers Adventure" gamification model through a series of assessments regarding validity, practicality, and effectiveness. A Research and Development (R&D) approach was employed, following the Define, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate & Revise stages. The study involved 51 students and three classroom teachers. Data collection instruments included media and instrument validation sheets, student and teacher response questionnaires, and learning outcome tests. The findings indicate that developing the "Numbers Adventure" gamification model was necessary to bridge the gap between students' learning characteristics, educators' needs, and elementary school curriculum requirements. Assessments by subject matter experts (96%) and media experts (95%) confirmed that the content, design, and learning structure met pedagogical standards and aligned with the elementary school curriculum. The practicality of the "Numbers Adventure" gamification proved to be very high, based on ratings from both students (95.11%) and educators (94%). The model demonstrated high effectiveness in improving mathematics learning outcomes, evidenced by N-Gain scores ranging from 0.83 to 0.88 (categorized as high). The "Numbers Adventure" gamification model successfully optimized numeracy concept understanding for students with varying levels of prior knowledge across all trial locations.