The effects of educational digital escape games on achievement and motivation in mathematics courses

Digital escape games, which are the version of escape games performed on digital platforms, have become more and more popular in recent years. Such games usually require players to solve different puzzles according to a scenario and try to escape from a room. Digital escape games aim to improve the understanding of mathematics concepts for those who use them in mathematics lessons. They can also help to increase students' motivation to learn mathematics and improve their negative attitudes toward mathematics. Digital escape games are a very attractive learning tool for students growing up in this digital age. Therefore, using different games such as digital escape games in mathematics lessons can make students' mathematics learning more effective and enjoyable. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of educational digital escape games on the academic performance and motivation of elementary school students. The sample of the study consisted of 45 students in the 3rd grade of a private primary school in Istanbul. The experimental group consisted of 23 students, 11 male students and 12 female students. The control group consisted of a total of 22 students, 10 boys and 12 girls. In this study, the experimental group students played an educational digital escape game called Genially for a total of 4 weeks, while the control group students reinforced the subject with worksheets during the same period. An academic achievement test and a motivation questionnaire were used to collect data from the participants. When the academic achievement of the experimental and control groups were compared, there was a significant difference between the academic achievement of the experimental group playing the digital escape game and the control group learning with the traditional method. When compared in terms of motivation, no significant difference was found