Content analysis of digital mathematics games based on the NCTM Content and Process Standards: An exploratory study

Abstract

This exploratory study was conducted to evaluate the quality of digital math games by measuring how much the content of a digital game is aligned to the NCTM Content and Process Standards. For this purpose, this study employed a content analysis method. In total, 23 digital mathematics games have been selected and analyzed using an instrument, a codebook, developed from the NCTM Content and Process Standards. The data showed that a variety of game genre have been used in mathematics games. The majority of math game content focuses on Number and Operations standards compared to other NCTM Content Standards. Also, we found that the games analyzed in this study connected to the all NCTM Process Standards. This study could help the stakeholders of mathematics education in determining what digital math games they integrate for students to improve the math content knowledge and by providing criteria to evaluate math game content aligned with NCTM Content and Process Standards.