Asst. Prof. Dr. Poonsri Vate-U-Lan The accurate design of user experience can motivate Thai students to adopt mathematics gamification as an additional educational resource, it is an effective educational approach to boost the math skills of Thai students aged under 15. Thailand’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results were below minimum proficiency from 2000 until now. The development of online resources to quell this disturbing PISA result in mathematics is a passion underpinning my research. The host institute of the PISA test in Thailand, namely the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST) (2020), declared Mathematics and creative thinking as the major focus for Thai students. Studying mathematics should give students a deeper understanding of many subjects related to human thought and logic and integral to attempts at understanding the world. Thailand was ranked 60th among 77 countries within the PISA framework (FactsMaps, 2019). The OECD results show Thai students underperforming in reading, mathematics and science compared to most countries participating in the evaluation (OECD, 2018). Thai students aged around 15 are consistently below the international average in mathematics as Thailand earned 419 points, and the OECD average was 489 points (OECD, 2019). Among APEC countries, Thailand's PISA score was ranked lower than all others and never improved, while neighbouring countries, such as Malaysia, were significantly enhanced with a strong education plan and practice policies when the PISA mathematics score was identified as a problem (Kenan Foundation Asia, 2019). The top ten of the PISA mathematics rankings consisted of seven Asian countries: China, Singapore, Macao, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. Among the top ten, only Singapore was the only South-East Asian country(Maxwell & Kamnuansilpa, 2016). Singapore scored 569 in contrast to Thailand’s 419 points (Maxwell & Kamnuansilpa, 2016; OECD, 2018). According to the OECD, 30 points equates to one year of schooling. On this scale, Singapore students are over five years ahead of Thai students (Maxwell & Kamnuansilpa, 2016).
In 2018, Thailand's Ordinary National Education Test (O-Net) covered 640,000 Mathayom 3 or Year 9 students. The scores were 26.3 in maths, which can be rated beneath 50 per cent, casting mathematics performance as the lowest of all the subjects (Mala, 2021; The Nation, 2018). The amount of time allocated to maths classes contributed to poor maths performance in Thailand; even though the number of hours spent daily was longer than those in many other countries, Thailand had fewer weeks of study each semester (The Standard, 2022). Moreover, the curriculum was focused too much on ‘content’ rather than balancing practice and experiences. The post-COVID-19 crisis has affected mathematics education worldwide, including in Thailand, as online instruction provides less traditional class time (Chaitrong, 2020). Massachusetts’ Institute of Technology (MIT) reported COVID-19 pandemic caused 50 per cent drop in mathematical ability among Thai students as Thai online school quality is not equal to the traditional school quality (Taylor, 2021). From the evidence, the need to construct an effective strategy to revise and deliver innovative mathematics education in Thailand is to boost access to resources for online mathematics education. Technology can play a major role in improving the quality of education (The Australian Government, the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, 2022). The initial stage to gamify mathematics to motivate Thai students to adopt this innovation is to explore the UX design that can encourage Thai students. Moreover, it is essential to extend a study of UX design to prevent game addiction or other misuse behaviours. By designing meaningful digital experiences, Thai students can learn mathematics at their own pace through gamification adding heightened engagement as an added benefit. Research Question: How UX design and gamification can enhance motivation to adopt mathematics for Thai students aged under 15?
Research Objective: The main objective is to explore how UX design and gamification can enhance motivation to adopt mathematics for Thai students aged under 15 by:
Scope of the research The National Statistical Office of Thailand (2020) reported that Thai students aged under 15, or Year 9, number 1,929,114 students, with the majority of students (1,543,557) in public schools and 385,557 in the private school sector. Statistically, the total sampling of the online survey must cover a minimum of 385 students. However, the researcher aims to gather feedback from many more participants to enhance the accuracy of quantitative analysis. As the report confirmed, less than one third of Thai students throughout Thailand cannot access the Internet from home (Rattanakhamfu, 2020). Thus, the stratified sampling method should be the most effective approach to gathering data from students from Thailand divided into six main regions: north, northeast, central, west, east and south (Nations Online Project, 2021). The online survey, including parent’s consent forms for students aged under 15, will be constructed and distributed to all Thai students not only in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand. Ethics approval will be gained at the host University in Australia. This dimension of the research will involve ethical clearance from the host university. The area of mathematics aligns with four categories of the PISA assessment content: change and relationships, space and shape, quantity and uncertainty and data. The four topics that will be prioritised in PISA 2022 include growth phenomena, geometric approximation, computer simulations and conditional decision-making (OECD, 2022; The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers, 2020).
|
References |
Cantuni, R. (2021, March 2). Beyond the buzzword: Gamification done right. Medium.
https://uxdesign.cc/beyond-the-buzzword-gamification-done-right-7c06b865d31
Chaitrong, W. (2020, December 10). Covid exposing weakness, inequality of Thai education: World Bank. Nationthailand.
https://www.nationthailand.com/tech/30399366
FactsMaps. (2019, December 5). PISA 2018 Worldwide Ranking—Average score of mathematics, science and reading. FactsMaps.
https://factsmaps.com/pisa-2018-worldwide-ranking-average-score-of-mathematics-science-reading/
Kenan Foundation Asia. (2019, December 18). Thai PISA Results: 5 Things You Need to Know.
https://www.kenan-asia.org/thai-education-pisa-results/
Mala, D. (2021, January 2). Long-overdue end of O-Net exams. Bangkok Post.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2044427/long-overdue-end-of-o-net-exams
Maxwell, D., & Kamnuansilpa, P. (2016, December 19). Global tests expose reality of Thai schools. Bangkok Post.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1162981/global-tests-expose-reality-of-thai-schools
Nations Online Project. (2021). Regions Map of Thailand. https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/thailand-region-map.htm
OECD. (2018). PISA 2018 Results Combined Executive Summaries. OECD Publishing Paris.
https://www.oecd.org/pisa/Combined_Executive_Summaries_PISA_2018.pdf
OECD. (2019). PISA 2018 Assessment and Analytical Framework. OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/b25efab8-en
OECD. (2022). PISA 2022: Mathematics Framework. https://pisa2022-maths.oecd.org/ca/index.html
Rattanakhamfu, S. (2020, May 6). Covid-19 emphasizes the need to bridge the digital divide and reduce online educational inequality. TDRI:
Thailand Development Research Institute.
https://tdri.or.th/en/2020/05/covid-19-emphasizes-the-need-to-bridge-the-digital-divide-and-reduce-online-educational-inequality/
Taylor, M. (2021, January 19). Research shows home-learning causes 50% drop in mathematical ability among Thai students. Thaiger. https://thethaiger.com/news/national/research-shows-home-learning-causes-50-drop-in-mathematical-ability-among-thai-students
The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers. (2020, October 27). PISA 2022 Mathematical Framework. Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers. https://aamt.edu.au/pisa-2022/
The Australian Government, the Department of Education, Skills and Employment. (2022, May 2). Why is STEM important? [Text]. Department
of Education, Skills and Employment; scheme=AGLSTERMS.AglsAgent; corporateName=Department of Education, Skills and Employment; address=50 Marcus Clarke St, Canberra City, ACT 2601; contact=+61 1300 566 046.
https://www.dese.gov.au/australian-curriculum/national-stem-education-resources-toolkit/introductory-material-what-stem/why-stem-important
The Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST). (2020, July 15). การเลื่อนการจัดสอบ PISA 2021 เป็น PISA 2022.
PISA THAILAND. https://pisathailand.ipst.ac.th/news-14/
The Nation. (2018, March 27). Poor O-Net results nationally – but then there’s Supawadi. Nationthailand.
https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/30341839
The National Statistical Office of Thailand. (2020). Thai Education Statistic. http://statbbi.nso.go.th/staticreport/page/sector/th/03.aspx
The Standard. (2022). The Standard Debate: Bangkok Mayor The Candidate Battle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbbJSrBnqkc
https://uxdesign.cc/beyond-the-buzzword-gamification-done-right-7c06b865d31
Chaitrong, W. (2020, December 10). Covid exposing weakness, inequality of Thai education: World Bank. Nationthailand.
https://www.nationthailand.com/tech/30399366
FactsMaps. (2019, December 5). PISA 2018 Worldwide Ranking—Average score of mathematics, science and reading. FactsMaps.
https://factsmaps.com/pisa-2018-worldwide-ranking-average-score-of-mathematics-science-reading/
Kenan Foundation Asia. (2019, December 18). Thai PISA Results: 5 Things You Need to Know.
https://www.kenan-asia.org/thai-education-pisa-results/
Mala, D. (2021, January 2). Long-overdue end of O-Net exams. Bangkok Post.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2044427/long-overdue-end-of-o-net-exams
Maxwell, D., & Kamnuansilpa, P. (2016, December 19). Global tests expose reality of Thai schools. Bangkok Post.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1162981/global-tests-expose-reality-of-thai-schools
Nations Online Project. (2021). Regions Map of Thailand. https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/thailand-region-map.htm
OECD. (2018). PISA 2018 Results Combined Executive Summaries. OECD Publishing Paris.
https://www.oecd.org/pisa/Combined_Executive_Summaries_PISA_2018.pdf
OECD. (2019). PISA 2018 Assessment and Analytical Framework. OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/b25efab8-en
OECD. (2022). PISA 2022: Mathematics Framework. https://pisa2022-maths.oecd.org/ca/index.html
Rattanakhamfu, S. (2020, May 6). Covid-19 emphasizes the need to bridge the digital divide and reduce online educational inequality. TDRI:
Thailand Development Research Institute.
https://tdri.or.th/en/2020/05/covid-19-emphasizes-the-need-to-bridge-the-digital-divide-and-reduce-online-educational-inequality/
Taylor, M. (2021, January 19). Research shows home-learning causes 50% drop in mathematical ability among Thai students. Thaiger. https://thethaiger.com/news/national/research-shows-home-learning-causes-50-drop-in-mathematical-ability-among-thai-students
The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers. (2020, October 27). PISA 2022 Mathematical Framework. Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers. https://aamt.edu.au/pisa-2022/
The Australian Government, the Department of Education, Skills and Employment. (2022, May 2). Why is STEM important? [Text]. Department
of Education, Skills and Employment; scheme=AGLSTERMS.AglsAgent; corporateName=Department of Education, Skills and Employment; address=50 Marcus Clarke St, Canberra City, ACT 2601; contact=+61 1300 566 046.
https://www.dese.gov.au/australian-curriculum/national-stem-education-resources-toolkit/introductory-material-what-stem/why-stem-important
The Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST). (2020, July 15). การเลื่อนการจัดสอบ PISA 2021 เป็น PISA 2022.
PISA THAILAND. https://pisathailand.ipst.ac.th/news-14/
The Nation. (2018, March 27). Poor O-Net results nationally – but then there’s Supawadi. Nationthailand.
https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/30341839
The National Statistical Office of Thailand. (2020). Thai Education Statistic. http://statbbi.nso.go.th/staticreport/page/sector/th/03.aspx
The Standard. (2022). The Standard Debate: Bangkok Mayor The Candidate Battle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbbJSrBnqkc
Resource of the background: https://www.freepik.com/vectors/alien