The impact of character-based digital storytelling on students' achievement in mathematics education

Aim: This study aims to examine the effect of character-supported digital stories, which integrate the discipline of visual arts with mathematics instruction, on middle school students' academic achievement in the topic of algebraic expressions. Materials and Methods: A mixed-methods approach and a pre-test–post-test quasi-experimental design with a control group were employed in the study. The research was conducted during the 2025–2026 academic year with a total of 38 sixth-grade students attending a public school, including 18 students in the experimental group and 20 students in the control group. While the experimental group received instruction through character-supported digital stories developed by the researcher using illustrations appropriate to the cognitive and artistic developmental characteristics of sixth-grade students, the control group was taught using traditional instructional methods. For data collection, the Algebraic Expressions Achievement Test was administered to both groups before and after the intervention, and a Semi-Structured Interview Form was administered to the experimental group after the implementation. Quantitative data were analyzed using independent and dependent samples t-tests in SPSS, whereas qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis by coding them into themes. Findings: The findings revealed a statistically significant difference in favor of the experimental group in the post-test scores. In the interviews, students reported that they were positively influenced by mathematics instruction supported through digital storytelling. Conclusion: As a result, it was concluded that teaching algebraic expressions through character-supported digital storytelling within the framework of interdisciplinary instruction increased students' academic achievement. Keywords: Algebraic Expressions, Digital Storytelling, Illustration, Interdisciplinary Instruction