Embedded Game-like Assessment Strategy into Mathematics’ Teaching and Assessing Its Effects on 8th Grade Students’ Anxiety and Achievement in Mathematics: An Action Research

• Main Authors: Chih-yu Wan, 萬金玉
• Other Authors: Kuo-Hua Wang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/26761997393061398886

碩士 === 國立彰化師範大學 === 科學教育研究所 === 99 === This research discusses the relationship between anxiety and learning accomplishment, the obstacles and solutions in the process, and aims to improve assessment by replacing paper test with web-based game assessment. A web-based game assessment, named GAM-WATA, was developed by Wang (2008). This research lasts for 4 months, divided into 3 instructional cycles of action research. The researchers are teachers by profession, and the subjects are two classes of eighth-graders, with 57 students in total. The two groups are first taught in the same way, and after each class, web-based assessment and traditional paper and pencil test are applied to the two groups respectively. The research is designed to be divided into three stages: The first being induction stage, where the experiment group subjects learn to use web-based game assessment; the second is the developing stage, where the experiment group are applied web-based game assessment ; the third and the mastering stage, where the subjects elaborate and master web-based game assessment. On the other hand, the control group is treated with traditional assessmentat the same time along the three stages of instruction cycles. The data collected and analysed is mainly based on quantitative data and supported by qualitative data. The quantitative data include the “Anxiety in Mathematics Scale”, “Mathematics Achievement Test”, and “the GAM-WATA Survey.” The one way ANCOVA, two way ANCOVA, and single paired t-test are used for the quantitative data analysis; the qualitative data include the teacher's observing data and half-constructive interviewing records. The qualitative data is classified and inducted to support the quantitative analysis. The findings show that: the main obstacles of embedding the GAM-WATA into mathematics teaching include the unfamiliarity of the operation of the GAM-WATA, difficulties in express mathematical symbols with the GAM-WATA while test items design, student learning abilities, and student distractions. However, after the treatment, the experimental group shows a better result in the achivement test and less anxiety in mathematics than the control group, suggesting an alternative to raise the achievementt and lower the anxiety in general mathematics, instead of anxiety in specific mathematics. Additionally, subjects show positive response to assessment with the GAM-WATA.