The effects of game based teaching supported by brain puzzles on the four processing skills of primary school students

In this study, the effect of brain puzzles and Game Based Teaching on the four processing skills of primary school fourth grade students was examined. The study used a quasi-experimental design with pre-test/post-test control group, which is one of the quantitative research methods. The data obtained in the study were analyzed with non-parametric tests using the SPSS 26.0 program. The study group, which was determined by the convenience sampling method, consists of 29 (Experimental: 14, Control: 15) students studying in the 4th grade of a state primary school in the Central Black Sea Region in the 2021-2022 academic year. Before the application, the "Four Process Success Tests" prepared by the researcher were applied to both groups as a pre-test. As a result of the pre-test, it was observed that there was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups. For the content validity of the achievement test which is prepared by the researcher, necessary corrections were made in the questions and options by getting opinions from one mathematics education specialist, two secondary school mathematics teachers and two classroom teachers. For the reliability of the test, a pilot study was conducted with 52 students and the obtained rates were calculated with the TAP Item Analysis program and found to be 0.89. The application process was carried out by the researcher using Game Based Teaching studies and brain puzzles for 12 weeks-30 hours with the experimental group. At the end of the process, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test was applied to pre-test/post-test success scores in both groups, and a significant difference was observed between the post-test/pre-test success scores of the experimental group at the 0.05 significance level. Post-test and difference scores of the experimental and control groups were analyzed with the Mann Whitney U test, and no significant difference was found in both tests. With these results, it was revealed that although teaching with games and performing brain puzzles and four processings skills had positive results, it did not make a difference compared to the control group who completed the teaching with the 2018 Mathematics Curriculum. That researchers can work with similar acquisitive research methods and that educators can use game teaching supported by brain puzzles as a tool to increase the scope of students.