The Effect of Gamification-Based Mathematics Instruction on Executive Functions and Digit Span among Secondary School students

Abdolhoseinzadeh Buloyerdy, Samira; Fariborzi Araghi, Mohammad Ali; Hamidi, Farideh

doi:10.22034/iepa.2026.567067.1570

The Effect of Gamification-Based Mathematics Instruction on Executive Functions and Digit Span among Secondary School students

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Samira Abdolhoseinzadeh Buloyerdy ¹

Mohammad Ali Fariborzi Araghi ¹

Farideh Hamidi ²

¹ Department of Mathematics, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University , Niayesh complex, Zip code 1469669191, Ashrafi Ave., Poonak, Tehran, Iran

² Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/iepa.2026.567067.1570

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of gamification-based instruction on the executive functions of secondary school students. This research employed a semi-experimental design with a pretest–posttest and control group. The statistical population included all 12th-grade mathematics students in District 3 of Tehran during the 2023–2024 academic year. The sample consisted of 30 students (15 in each group) selected through cluster random sampling; two schools were randomly chosen from among the 12th-grade mathematics students. Data were collected using the Executive Functions Questionnaire by Gioia et al. (2000), the Digit Span subscale of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, and the Cattell Intelligence Test was administered to control for intelligence across groups. The experimental group received gamification-based mathematics instruction once a week for ten 70-minute sessions, while the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The results indicated that gamification-based instruction had a significant effect on students’ executive brain functions and memory span (P ≤ 0.05). Specifically, the experimental group outperformed the control group in key components of executive functioning — including inhibition, shifting attention, emotional control, task initiation, working memory, planning, organization, and monitoring — as well as in both forward and backward digit span.

Keywords

Executive Functions

Gamification

Digit Span

Mathematics Instruction

Students

Subjects