Developing a Game-Based Learning Solution to improve multiplication skills

Project Overview

Project Description

The seven-month project focused on developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for a game-based learning solution, specifically designed to improve multiplication skills among 2nd to 4th grade students.

Domain

Mathematics (Multiplication Table)

Duration

7 months (Jan - Aug 2023)

Client

Skoolbo

Target Group

Skoolbo

Team

My Role

Project Manager, Product Manager, UX Researcher, UX Designer, Programmer

Product Manager and UX Researcher

Sections

Methods

Part 1: Project Background

Context

Skoolbo, an EdTech company, is interested in creating a solution aimed at enhancing multiplication skills for 2nd to 4th graders. While the company has expertise in developing games for students, it recognizes the need for integrating educational elements into these games.

To address this, Skoolbo has partnered with the Master's of Educational Technology and Applied Learning Sciences Program at Carnegie Mellon University for a 7-month long capstone project. The objective is to determine the characteristics of an effective game-based learning solution that ensures both entertainment and educational value for students.

Problem

Mastering multiplication tables requires extensive repetition and memorization, a process which can often be demotivating for many students due to its repetitive nature. Consequently, teachers face the challenge of making this crucial task engaging and stimulating for their students.

Solution

Use Case: Following lessons on multiplication tables in a classroom setting, teachers use our game as a diagnostic test that benchmarks each student, disguised as a multiplayer team-based game.

Game Concept: This game is structured around several rounds of one-minute learning challenges. Teams from each class compete to win these rounds, with the victorious team advancing to an exciting showdown against winning teams from other classes.

Game Mechanics: Team competition is the central mechanic of the game. Students are grouped into the same teams for the entire semester, fostering strong bonds and a sense of camaraderie. This team consistency encourages students to engage with the game for a broader purpose beyond individual achievement - the success of their team.

Practice Feature: Students can boost their likelihood of success in the weekly challenges by using the practice feature. This feature not only strengthens their skills but also contributes additional bonus points to their team's overall score.

The practice feature is thoughtfully designed to incorporate principles of learning science. This includes providing timely feedback on performance, offering personalized question sets tailored to each student's performance level, and utilizing spaced repetition techniques for effective learning.

Part 2: Research Methods Overview

Key Research Goal

How does game-based learning contribute to developing fluency in multiplication tables?

Part 2.1: Discover

Process

Anchor 1

Literature Review

32 academic papers

Detail

Competitor Analysis

8 competitors

Detail

Interview Teachers

10 teachers

Detail

Interview Students

10 students

Detail

Output: Insight

Finding 1: Mastery of math facts is a key indicator of mathematical proficiency. However, students often struggle to transition from conceptual understanding to fact fluency, as this shift necessitates different learning strategies.
Finding 2: The disengagement of students in learning is affected by a range of factors such as cognitive abilities, underdeveloped numeracy skills, and attitudes towards education, often influenced by family environments. Recognizing their deficiency in intrinsic motivation highlights the need to begin fostering motivation through extrinsic means.
Finding 3: Employing game-based learning techniques, such as providing achievable challenges, recognizing small achievements through immediate rewards, and using visual feedback, can effectively create extrinsic motivation. This approach can gradually transition into fostering intrinsic motivation.

Part 2.2: Define

Process

Thematic Analysis
- I revisited our initial research goals to remind the team of the specific objectives we aimed to achieve.
- I assigned team members to thoroughly review the interview transcripts and watch the recordings. To ensure comprehensive coverage and multiple perspectives, each interview session was revisited by at least two team members.
- Each team member collected all relevant sentences or text segments from the interviews that directly correlated with our research goals. These extracts were then labeled with appropriate codes that reflected their core content or theme.
- After coding, these labeled segments were grouped into various emerging themes.

Output: User Persona

Anchor 2

User Persona 1: Students

Detail

User Persona 2: Teachers

Detail

Part 2.3: Develop

Process

Anchor 3

Design

Ideation

Detail

Usability

Testing

Detail

Output: Prototype

Anchor 4

Low-fidelity Prototype

Assign a Team

Multiplication Table Game

Score Announcement

Team Score Status

Mid-fidelity Prototype

Assign a Team

Multiplication Table Game

Score Announcement

Team Score Status

High-fidelity Prototype

Paper Prototype

Assign a Team

Multiplication Table Game

Score Announcement

Team Score Status

Part 2.4: Deliver

Output: High-fidelity Prototype

Output: Functional Prototype

Part 3: Impact

The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is currently transitioning to a commercial product.

Part 4: My Learning

Interaction with clients

The most valuable skill I honed was negotiation. We occasionally had differing views on the product direction, a common scenario when dealing with a CEO who is deeply invested in their product concept. My approach was to frame their ideas as hypotheses for testing and experimentation, rather than absolute truths. This strategy helped steer the project towards a user-centered design philosophy, avoiding the pitfalls of becoming too fixated on our own preconceived notions.

Engaging with minors as target users

Working with minors, particularly those aged 8-10 years, presented unique challenges. Throughout this process, I gained valuable insights and developed specific strategies to effectively address and solve these problems. Here are the key lessons I learned along the way:

First Challenge - Timidity Among Strangers:
- Challenge: Minors can be shy or reserved around new people.
- Solution:
  - We tried to establish a friendly rapport quickly, using language they are comfortable with.
  - We avoided formality, framing our sessions as fun activities rather than formal usability tests
  - We engaged in warm-up conversations to put them at ease.
  - We also recruited additional participants in case some of them were very shy to talk to strangers.
Second Challenge - Articulation and Understanding:
- Challenge: students often struggle to articulate their thoughts and may use terms or phrases that were not commonly understood outside their immediate circle.
- Solution: We mitigated this by involving their parents in the sessions as translators or by observing the kids playing the game instead of relying solely on verbal descriptions.

Working with Teams

Effective communication plays a pivotal role in the success of my team. In this context, "effective" encompasses both consistent and constructive communication.

Consistent and Clear Communication: With the project's dynamic nature, it was crucial to keep everyone aligned. I practiced over-communication, regularly emphasizing our project and weekly goals at the beginning of each meetings.
Constructive Feedback: While working closely with a team, it's natural to encounter misunderstandings or differences in working styles. Recognizing this, I focused on cultivating a culture of regularly providing constructive feedback to one another. This approach was crucial in addressing issues early on and preventing long-term conflicts.

Back to the top