@inproceedings{b3e35770cdc54cf293e82fc10879d36c,
title = "Do games reduce maths anxiety? A review of the current literature",
abstract = "The paper proposes a systematic review of game-based approaches to reduce Maths Anxiety (MA). Thirteen experimental studies carried out in children and young adults were included in the review. In all the studies analysed, the games used were designed for general learning, usually quiz-based or puzzle-based games. Although 8 out of 13 studies report a reduction of MA after the intervention, only in 6/13 studies this was significant versus a traditional learning control group. This could be explained partially by the absence of games explicitly designed to deal with MA. Just two studies explicitly considered anxiety-aware features in their intervention strategy, including working on the competition element and a real-time indicator of MA embedded in the game. Our review shows the need for targeted studies to understand the impact of specific game features on MA in order to support the design of anxiety-aware games. Potential features include the introduction of gender-aware game design to account for the prevalence of MA among girls and the investigation of more collaborative and interactive game-modes.",
keywords = "Game-based learning, Literature review, Mathematics anxiety",
author = "Pierpaolo Dondio and Santos, {Flavia H.} and Viacheslav Gusev and Mariana Rocha",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Authors, 2021. All Rights Reserved.; 15th European Conference on Game Based Learning, ECGBL 2021 ; Conference date: 24-09-2020 Through 25-09-2020",
year = "2021",
doi = "10.34190/GBL.21.112",
language = "English",
series = "Proceedings of the European Conference on Games-based Learning",
publisher = "Dechema e.V.",
pages = "287--295",
editor = "Panagiotis Fotaris",
booktitle = "Proceedings of the 15th European Conference on Game Based Learning, ECGBL 2021",
}