Gamification Strategies to Optimize the Teaching of Linear Equations

Abstract

This study analyzed the effect of a gamified interactive guide on learning 2 x 2 and 3 x 3 systems of linear equations among first-year high school students at Unidad Educativa Particular Francisco Huerta Rendón in Guayaquil. A mixed-methods approach was used with a one-group pre-experimental design and a descriptive scope. The accessible population and sample comprised 50 students, 26 male and 24 female, within an institution selected by convenience. Data collection combined a 10-item test administered as a pretest and posttest, a 10-item Likert survey, and semi-structured interviews with three institutional informants. The procedure included baseline characterization, implementation of a Genially guide featuring challenges, levels, rewards, and feedback, and a final assessment. The reported mean increased from 6.12 (SD = 1.10) to 8.92 (SD = 0.78); the paired-samples t test indicated a statistically significant difference, t(49) = -16.57, p < .001. The largest gains concerned variable isolation and solution procedures using substitution and Gaussian elimination. The intervention is a promising instructional alternative; however, the lack of a control group, undocumented duration, and inconsistencies between item frequencies and overall means require verification of the individual-level dataset before causal claims are made.