Improved Math Mastery with the Decimal Point Game

Impact: Over 1,500 middle schoolers have learned from our educational games

We have run many studies with the Decimal Point game, applying various Learning Science principles to improve its effectiveness. Over the past 10 years, over 1,500 students have benefited from the Decimal Point learning game and curriculum materials.

We designed and developed the digital learning game Decimal Point to improve middle school students' mastery of math.

This work led to...

Improved mastery of decimals. Student test scores indicate that participants who learned with the game significantly improved their understanding of decimals and decimal operations.
New research on using erroneous examples for learning. The game introduced erroneous example problems – meaning at least one aspect of the decimal problem is incorrect – and this style of prompting students to identify and fix the error(s) led to significant learning benefits.
Another learning game, Angle Jungle. This work expanded to see if the design principles that work on Decimal Point can be transferred to Angle Jungle, a game that teaches geometric principles.
New work on gender and learning. Decimal Point is a gender neutral game but post tests showed that girls’ scores increased more than boys’ scores. We are now exploring the effectiveness of design principles and gender-based learning differences.

Supported by:

National Science Foundation (NSF), EHR Core Research (ECR). PIs: Bruce M. McLaren, Jessica Hammer (Carnegie Mellon University), J. Elizabeth Richey, (University of Pittsburgh), Ryan Baker (University of Pennsylvania), Nicole Else-Quest (University of North Carolina), Jon Star (Harvard University), “Collaborative Research: Investigating Gender Differences in Digital Learning Games with Educational Data Mining,” (CMU Portion: $1,050,243) Period: 07/01/22 to 06/30/25.
National Science Foundation (NSF), EHR Core Research (ECR). PIs: Bruce M. McLaren, Ryan Baker (University of Pennsylvania), Jon Star (Harvard University), “Collaborative Research: Using Educational Data Mining Techniques to Uncover How and Why Students Learn from Erroneous Examples,” (CMU Portion: $914,042) Period: 06/01/17 to 12/31/22. (See the NSF Award Announcement; Read the CMU HCII article about this grant)
National Science Foundation (NSF), Transforming STEM Learning (TSL), Award No: DRL-1238619. PI: Bruce M. McLaren, Co-PI: Jodi Forlizzi, “Enhancing Mathematics Education with Educational Games: Can Erroneous Examples Help?” ($510,518). Period: 10/01/12 to 03/31/15. (See the NSF Award Announcement)

Timing: This work has been going on for over a decade.

Related work:

Researchers: Bruce M. McLaren, Jessica Hammer, Jodi Forlizzi

Research Areas: Learning Sciences and Educational Technologies, Games & Play

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