Effects of a Game-Based Fraction Estimation Task on Math Anxiety

Math anxiety is defined as negative feelings associated with mathematical tasks in educational but also real-life situations. Evidence shows that math anxiety negatively affects the ability to solve mathematical tasks. Game-based learning has proven to be an effective approach to improve attitudes toward math. This study looked at the effects of a game-based version of a fraction estimation task on math anxiety and estimation performance when directly compared to a non-game-based task version. Participants aged 18–25-years-old were assessed on their math anxiety levels before and after completing both task versions. Changes in reported math anxiety levels through completion of either the game-based or non-game-based version were then compared. Analyses indicated no significant difference in the change of math anxiety (nor state anxiety as a control variable), nor significant differences in estimation performance due to task version. This seems to indicate no significant influence of game-based presentation of the fraction estimation task on reported math anxiety. Nevertheless, it needs to be considered that levels of math anxiety were generally low in our sample of university students. The current study can be considered a first step toward systematically investigating effects of game-based learning approaches on math anxiety. Accordingly, current results call for further research on a more math-anxious sample to investigate the potential benefits of a game-based task version on math anxiety and fraction estimation performance.