Gamification and Deadending: Unpacking Performance Impacts in Algebraic Learning

This study explores the effects of varying problem-solving strategies on students' future performance within the gamified algebraic learning platform From Here To There! (FH2T). The study focuses on the procedural pathways students adopted, transitioning from a start state to a goal state in solving algebraic problems. By dissecting the nature of these pathways—optimal, sub-optimal, incomplete, and dead-end—we sought correlations with post-test outcomes. A striking observation was that students who frequently engaged in what we term 'regular dead-ending behavior', were significantly correlated with higher post-test performance. This finding underscores the potential of exploratory learner behavior within a low-stakes gamified framework in bolstering algebraic comprehension. The implications of our findings are twofold: they accentuate the significance of tailoring gamified platforms to student behaviors and highlight the potential benefits of fostering an environment that promotes exploration without retribution. Moreover, our insights hint at the notion that fostering exploratory behavior could be instrumental in cultivating mathematical flexibility.