HCII PhD Thesis Proposal: Huy Nguyen
Speaker
Huy Nguyen
HCII PhD Candidate
When
-
Where
GHC 6115
Description
Addressing the Gender Gap in Middle School Math Education through Digital Learning Games
Huy Nguyen
Time and Location:
12/12/2022 - 3pm ET
Gates & Hillman Centers (GHC) 6115
Zoom Link
ID: 96531833663
Passcode: 090910
Thesis Committee:
Bruce M. McLaren (Co-Chair), HCII, CMU
John Stamper (Co-Chair), HCII, CMU
Jodi Forlizzi, HCII, CMU
Jessica Hammer, HCII, CMU
Derek Lomas, Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology
Abstract:
There is an established gender gap in middle school math education, where female students report higher anxiety and lower engagement than male students, which negatively impacts their performance and even long-term career choices. While digital learning games, with the ability to promote learning motivation and outcomes, may help address this gap, there have been mixed results regarding gender differences in learning outcomes from games. Furthermore, there is insufficient practical guidance on making games effective for learners from diverse demographic backgrounds, such as those whose gender dimensions extend beyond the traditional binary classification of male and female.
In my work, I have identified Decimal Point, a digital learning game that teaches decimal numbers and operations to middle school students, as an excellent platform for studying gender effects in digital learning games. Through data analyses of five prior Decimal Point studies on over 1000 students, I have observed a consistent gender difference that was replicated across all studies – female students tended to have lower prior knowledge, but better self-explanation performance and higher learning gains from the game. The difference in self-explanation also explains the relationship between gender and learning outcomes, suggesting that female students’ better learning can be attributed to their self-explanation approach. At the same time, there were no differences in how male and female students enjoyed the game, indicating that digital games can help close the gap in learning while not sacrificing enjoyment for all students.
To complete my thesis, I will examine gender differences in other learning environments and incorporate multiple dimensions of gender – including gender identity, gender-typed activities, traits and interests – in my analyses. My first proposed study will involve a 2x2 experiment that manipulates whether students use the Decimal Point game or a conventional tutor with identical learning materials, and whether students are prompted to self-explain or not. The second proposed study will compare the gender effects in the base Decimal Point game with a reskinned version of the game that features a highly male-oriented narrative. These studies will test the generalizability of the observed gender differences on different learning platforms and narratives. They will also yield insights into the benefits of using multiple gender dimensions to explain learning processes and outcomes with games. In a broader sense, this research will advance knowledge on the multi-dimensionality of gender in learning game research and inform practical recommendations on aligning game features with individual learners to optimize learning and engagement.
Proposal document:
https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~hn1/documents/thesis/thesis_proposal.pdf
Host
Queenie Kravitz