Students' experience with using educational video games as supplements to remedial mathematics instruction

At a time when more jobs are opening in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); fewer and fewer American college freshmen are choosing STEM majors. One possible solution is to incorporate the use of math related educational video games as supplements to instruction. This generic qualitative study examines the lived experiences of fifteen college freshmen who are taking remedial math courses at a local community college. Through the use of open ended interviews, the participants share their experiences as they use video games as supplements to their math instruction. The results show an emergence of six major themes: (1) Positive Feelings about Games, (2) Feelings about Math, (3) Self-efficacy, (4) Perception Changes, (5) Suggestions, (6) Time. While the participants did not necessarily change their feelings about math as a result of this study, they did state that the games helped them through the course by offering immediate feedback, practice, and tutorial assistance. The participants stated their belief that games can be used as effective supplements to remedial math instruction.