Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Heather Pederson

Abstract

Students in Urban District 1 were not meeting grade level learning outcomes in mathematics on state- and district-administered benchmark assessments. The purpose of this study was to determine if including a specific educational video game (EVG), Prodigy, in mathematics instruction with third-grade students would influence students’ math achievement as measured by the districts quarterly Star Math benchmark assessments. The research question looked at the difference in students’ benchmark assessment scores for mathematics between third-grade users and non-users of the video game learning software Prodigy during the 2017–2018 school year. The use of EVGs as an instructional strategy was examined through the theoretical foundation of the technological pedagogical and content knowledge framework which is used to understand how to effectively integrate technology into the classroom. Using archival scaled scores, this causal–comparative study was conducted to compare achievement scores of students who were in a classroom that used Prodigy and those in a classroom that did not use Prodigy. A total of 2,350 scores were collected in the study. Because data violated the assumptions of an independent t-test, a Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze the data. The findings showed no statistically significant difference in benchmark assessment scores between Prodigy users and non-users. Further study recommendations include conducting an experimental study to gain a full picture of the potential use of Prodigy in a classroom setting. Potential implications for positive social change from the findings include encouraging that policies and programs on EVG use are drafted to fit the needs and capabilities of students to help learning be fruitful for all learners.

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