Effectiveness of Kahoot-Based Gamified Assessment on Lower-Order Thinking Skills in Mathematics Achievement at the Primary School Level: An Experimental Study

Abstract

Gamification based assessment practices improve student engagement, making learning more interactive and enjoyable. This study investigates the role of Kahoot-based gamified formative assessment on lower-order thinking skills among primary school students in the context of mathematics learning. Randomized pretest-posttest control group design was utilized in a true experimental design. The population of this study contained 10 schools, with 248 students in the 5th class in District Astore, which had internet access and an IT lab. A simple random sampling technique was applied to select the sample. A pretest and posttest were conducted to gather data on mathematics achievement of thinking skills. The experts validated pretest achievement thinking skills and also ensured K-20 reliability. The core findings of the results described that gamification-based formative assessment plays a significant role in improving LOTs of students toward mathematics. Besides, there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups' academic achievement regarding knowledge, comprehension and application. Results from a Tukey HSD post hoc test revealed a significant enhancement in thinking abilities from knowledge to comprehension (mean difference = 6.25926, p < .05) and application to knowledge (mean difference = 6.66667, p < .05) levels. However, no significant difference was found between comprehension and application levels (mean difference = .40741, p = .085), indicating comparable effectiveness of the formative assessment at these levels. Gamification-based formative assessment played a significant role in improving academic achievement in terms of lower-order thinking skills and may be beneficial in ensuring a quality teaching environment. Future studies may be conducted on whether gamification-based formative assessment practices effectively improve higher-order cognitive skills of students.