Mathlien Land: a serious game to practice 7th and 8th grade mathematics

Abstract

The use of educational serious games has widely spread in recent years, addressing several topics and purposes. A common target of these tools is science subjects, particularly mathematics, as it is one of the most commonly difficult and stressful subjects for students. After reviewing available mathematical educational games, we found a gap in games that target the mathematical content of the first cycle of secondary education (7^th and 8^th grade). Consequently, in this paper, we present Mathlien Land, an educational serious game to teach mathematical concepts to 12 to 14-year-olds. Through six independent but unified minigames, the game allows players to practice the main content of secondary mathematical courses within a playful environment. We also present the results of the early testing of the game with both general participants (N=17) and specific target users (N=40) for usability, opinion, and usefulness, obtaining positive feedback for all minigames and the overall game, as well as some areas of improvement such as the translation of the game to other languages. After this early evaluation, we additionally plan to include analytics in the game and continue its large-scale application with secondary students to contribute to their mathematical learning.