Fishing Master: An Educational Game for Number Sense of Mathematics Arithmetic for Elementary Students

Abstract

Number sense, the basis of mathematical ability is the important goal of elementary mathematics curriculum. Previous studies have indicated that number sense may make student have the feeling of using numbers. It may help students understand the relationship of numbers more and judge the reasonableness of an answer. It can also enhance their ability of analysis. Students with better number sense can use various strategies to solve a problem. This study therefore designs a digital game, named Fishing Master, for facilitating students’ number sense of addition. In order to win the game, students have to use appropriate strategies, which the system can scaffold them to use if they are not familiar with the strategies. In the future, the game should be improved and can be applied to multiplication and division for verifying its effects by a rigorous experiment.