Computer in Education Jiaying Zhao CSE 610 Western Oregon University

Computer games for the math achievement of diverse students As a way to improve student academic performance, educators have begun paying special attention to computer games (Gee, 2005; Oblinger, 2006) This paper examined the effects of playing computer games on math achievement of 4th graders, with special focus on gender and language minority groups. The study specified three models for analyses: ELL Model, Gender Model, and Interaction Model. To achieve greater generalizability of the study findings the study utilized a US nationally representative database — the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Kim, S., & Chang, M. (2010). Computer Games for the Math Achievement of Diverse Students. Educational Technology & Society, 13 (3), 224– 232.

Research questions 1. Are computer games in math classes associated with the 4th-grade students’ math performance? 2. How does the relationship differ by linguistic group? 3. How does the association vary by gender? 4. Is there an interaction effect of computer games on linguistic and gender groups? In other words, how does the effect of computer games on linguistic groups vary by gender group?

Some Important finding

Methods The study used the 4th-grade math database of the NAEP 2005 for analyses. A computer game variable, the frequency of computer game use in math class, was the chief predictor variable The two math computer game variables were also used by creating interaction variables with gender and linguistic group variables.

Results It represents descriptive statistics and inter-correlations of all varibles. The correlation results showed all variables had significant relationship with math scores. The students who played computer games sometimes showed high math scores (r=0.031, p<.01), but those who played computer games everyday tended to have low math scores

Results It displays the association between computer game frequency and math achievement for non-ELL students. Overall, the effect of computer games was greater for males than for females.The pattern indicated that when students played math games sometimes, they displayed the highest math performance among the three groups.The second performance group was the students who did not play math games at all and the lowest performance group was the students who played math games everyday.The results highlight the finding indicating that daily math game for non-ELL students was negatively associated with math performance

Results Figure 2 shows the relation between computer game frequency and math achievement for ELL students. The association patterns for ELL students were quite different from those for non-ELL students. The male ELL students demonstrated high math performance when they played math games sometimes or daily, while male students displayed low performance when they never played math games. The female ELL students had the highest math performance when they played math games sometimes, the second highest when they did not play, and the lowest when they played every day

Regression analyses Model 1: ELL model Among non-ELL students, students who played games daily performed significantly lower in math than those who never played games. For ELL students, no significant differential effects of math games showed. However, when ELL students played math computer games daily, they tended to have higher math performance compared with the performance of non-ELL students who did not play games, although the effect was not significant due to the large error variance.

Regression analyses Model 2: gender model Compared with male students who never played games, students who played sometimes performed significantly better. On the other hand, when male students played math computer games daily, they performed significantly poorly compared with male students who never played. For female students, no significant interaction was found. Unlike male students, no significant performance difference was detected depending on females’ frequency level of playing math computer games.

Regression analyses Model 3: interaction model Compared with Non-ELL students who never played math computer games at school, ELL male students who daily played math computer games achieved significantly higher math scores.ELL male students who played math games sometimes performed better than Non-ELL male students who never played math computer games, but the effect was not significant. Therefore, the frequent play of math computer games had a positive effect on the math performance of ELL male students.

Discussion In the first model, the study performed an analysis to examine the differential effect of computer games for students of two linguistic groups. Among native English-speaking students, the male students who played math computer games daily performed significantly worse than the students who never played. In the second model, the study found a gender-based differential effect of computer games on math achievement: the computer game was significantly associated with males’ math achievement, but not with females’ achievement.

Discussion In the third model, English-speaking male students showed low math achievement scores with daily math games, ELL male students demonstrated high performance with daily math games in class. It was interpreted that daily games for English-speaking male students can be a distracting factor for their school engagement, but daily games for ELL male students can be an educational stimulator. The study confirmed the differential effects of math computer games on the academic achievement of diverse students from different linguistic and gender groups, and it suggests that various learner characteristics should be considered when attempting to explore the effects of computer games.