imaginative Play, Sharp Math: A Game-Centered Technopedagogic Approach to Enhancing During Educational Transitions

This study investigates whether a game-centered, techno-pedagogic transitional learning model can accelerate children’s numeracy growth from play-based kindergarten to formal Grade 1 mathematics. A quasi-experimental mixed-methods design was employed with 124 Indonesian kindergarteners (Mage = 5.9 years) from four schools. Two classes (n = 62) received a six-week digital game intervention embedded in daily mathematics centers and supported by teacher TPACK coaching; two comparison classes (n = 62) followed the existing curriculum. Early Numeracy Assessment (pre-, post-, and 10-week delayed tests), engagement/motivation scales, classroom observations, and teacher/student interviews provided complementary data. Quantitative data were analyzed with HLM to account for classroom nesting; qualitative data underwent thematic coding. Controlling for baseline scores, the experimental group outperformed controls on overall numeracy (β = 0.47, p < .001; Hedges g = 0.62), with the most substantial gains in place-value reasoning and relational thinking. Benefits were robust across gender and socio-economic strata but moderated by initial math anxiety. Delayed testing showed partial retention (g = 0.39). Qualitative evidence revealed heightened autonomous motivation, strategic use of in-game feedback, and shifts in teacher practice toward inquiry-oriented questioning. Results offer actionable design principles, adaptive scaffolds, narrative coherence, and embedded analytics for educators and ed-tech developers to support numeracy during critical educational transitions.