An Exploratory Study of the Relationship Between Collaboration and Mathematics and Game Outcomes

This is an exploratory study of the relationship between collaboration and mathematics and game performance in a video game aimed at teaching concepts related to rational numbers. Two hundred forty three middle school students played a video game either with one partner or individually for 40 minutes. Results suggest that participants with low prior math knowledge tended to perform better by working collaboratively, while participants with high prior math knowledge tended to perform better by working individually. These results are similar to prior findings from classroom research which indicates that collaboration is more effective for low-performing students. The results have implications for designing game environments for low-performing students.