Designing an E-Game Program in Mathematics for 5th Grade Saudi Female Pupils: Does Gagne’s Theory Have Any Effectiveness in Developing Their Achievement of Mathematics?

Abstract

Design variables of e-learning technologies have gained great attention and concern from developers as well as researchers. So, e-Games design has gained a special concern in its design as an e-Learning technology in accordance with learning theories and instructional models such as Gagne’s theory. This research aims at investigating the effectiveness of an instructional e-game program designed according to the Gagne’s theory on developing mathematics’ achievement among primary school pupils in Saudi Arabia. The research sample composed of 46 female pupils from the fifth grade pupils at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals’ primary schools. Thus, the Developmental Research Method was adopted. The study sample was selected as a purposed cluster one of two classes (sections). The quasi-experimental design with pre and post testing was used. The sample was divided to two equal groups which were randomly assigned as: experimental group 1 (e-Games with Gagne’s theory), experimental group 2 (e-Games without Gagne’s theory); (23) female pupils in each group. An instructional unit has been selected from the 5th grade mathematics curriculum, its content was analyzed to drive the mathematical achievement categories of knowledge and cognitive skills. Then, a list of instructional design standards was derived for designing the instructional e-Games. The two instructional e-games programs were developed by the 1st author using Elgazzar (2002) ISD Model of the 2nd author: one e-Games program with Gagne’s theory and the other one e-Games program without Gagne’s theory. Both the instructional e-games programs were refereed, revised and approved according to those derived standards of instructional design. A Mathematics Achievement Test was developed and approved to be valid and reliable.