Flipped learning with gamification in secondary school mathematics education : a study of student achievement and engagement

Abstract

Flipped learning has become increasingly widespread, which requires students to learn before class by watching instructional videos. More in-class time can thus be spent on interactive learning activities such as group discussions. Hitherto, long term comparison studies of secondary school mathematics are lacking. The effects of integrating gamification into a flipped course are also not well researched. More importantly, the design of flipped courses is still undertheorized. As a result, its practices have largely been driven by teachers’ intuitive beliefs. To address the gaps in the flipped learning research, this study aims to examine students’ mathematics achievement and engagement under flipped learning with gamification. This study was conducted in a yearlong Form 3 (Grade 9) mathematics enrichment course at a Hong Kong secondary school. A total of 76 students from three classes learned under three instructional approaches, including a class for traditional learning (n = 27), a class for flipped learning with gamification (n = 28), and a class for online independent study with gamification (n = 21). A mixed method approach was used with quantitative (e.g., tests, student survey, and optional assignment) and qualitative (e.g., student interviews and teacher reflections) methods applied. The overarching goal of this study is to develop a set of theoretically and empirically supported design principles for flipped mathematics learning. The test results indicate that flipped learning with gamification promoted significantly greater student achievement than traditional learning and online independent study with a medium (r = .3773) and large (r = .5119) effect sizes, respectively. The benefits that contributed to such an improvement included more peer interactions, more guidance from the teacher, on-demand accessibility of online learning resources, and the use of formative assessment at the start of lessons. For student engagement, the survey results reveal that the overall behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement scores were statistically similar across the three classes. However, with reference to their performance on the optional assignment, there was evidence that flipped learning with gamification could better improve students’ cognitive engagement. Based on the research findings along with relevant theoretical and empirical support, a set of design principles of flipped mathematic learning is proposed. To promote student achievement, this set of design principles organizes the flipped instructional activities based on Merrill’s (2002) First Principles of Instruction. To foster student engagement, the Self-determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) is used to support students’ sense of autonomy, relatedness, and competence in flipped learning. In summary, this study contributes to our knowledge of the efficacy of flipped learning over a year long duration, and the effects of integrating gamification into a secondary school mathematics flipped course. This study also advances our understanding of how the two theoretical perspectives (First Principles of Instruction and Self-determination Theory) can be used to design the flipped mathematics courses. The proposed design principles provide mathematics teachers with a design framework for future practices. Future research can thus have a more focused agenda to examine the effects of flipped learning on student achievement and engagement.