Improvement of students’ mathematical problem-solving ability through kuga story-based learning with wordwall

Abstract

Mathematics learning, particularly solving word problems, remains challenging for students due to conceptual gaps and difficulties in identifying relevant information in problem situations. This study examines students’ mathematical problem-solving outcomes after using KUGA story-based geometry quizzes integrated with Wordwall as an interactive, game-based learning medium. The study employed a quantitative approach with a one-group pretest-posttest design. The participants were 21 seventh-grade students from MTs Hidayatul Islam. Data were collected through pretests, posttests, and documentation. KUGA was used to provide story-based geometry quiz content, while Wordwall served as an interactive digital platform for presenting and delivering the quizzes in a game-based format. Data were analyzed through normality testing, followed by the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test and N-Gain analysis to examine changes in students’ mathematical problem-solving outcomes. The results showed an increase in the mean score from 67.14 on the pretest to 82.38 on the posttest. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test indicated a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores (p < 0.001). The N-Gain score was 0.4536, categorized as moderate. These results indicate an improvement in students’ mathematical problem-solving outcomes following the implementation of KUGA story-based geometry quizzes integrated with Wordwall. However, because the study used a one-group pretest-posttest design without a control group, the observed improvement cannot be attributed solely to the intervention. Therefore, the findings should be interpreted as evidence of improvement following the implementation rather than definitive evidence of a causal effect.