Getting Serious about Math: Serious Game Design Framework & an Example of a Math Educational Game

Abstract: Serious games have been increasingly interesting to educators recently, but it is difficult to find good games that truly address the needs of young learners, especially in mathematics. Some games are either too simplistic or are not actual games. In the paper, an argument is made for the benefits of game-based learning (GBL) for instruction and assessment given what we know about Millenials and how they learn. The first aim of this discussion is to suggest a framework for designing serious games based on game features in commercial games, opinions of fourth graders and their teachers, literary studies, contemporary learning theories, as well as successful and unsuccessful similar endeavours. The second part of this paper describes a concrete example of a maths game based on the proposed framework that implicitly tests math and collaboration skills. The game is made of three components: the game itself, a social network, and a teacher reporting tool. Despite a growing interest in GBL, some teachers are reluctant to use serious games in school. To increase usage of serious games as resource, it is important to equip teachers with information and address their concerns. The paper concludes with the idea that serious games need to be designed well in order to provide the immersion and collaborative active learning that most learning theories recommend. Further, that they should be games and not just drill and practice. In that way, they can be even more beneficial than books as part of the teacher's repertoire in school. Future research avenues are also discussed.