The effect of digital educational game on the motivation and learning of dysgraphic students in the second grade of elementary school

The rapid advance of smart technologies has transformed various aspects of social life and, by its very nature, has significantly changed the nature, timing, and place of learning. Digital educational games, which in turn are one of the manifestations of technological progress in the modern era, will become an important part of education in the future. In this direction, educational systems have decided to change their educational methods and are looking for answers to the question of teaching and learning methods and how to prepare learners of the digital generation for life in this culture. In order to improve and make education effective for today's digital learners, one of these methods seems to be the use of educational games as an educational strategy in educational systems, considering the characteristics and possibilities of educational games. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of the design and application of ARIAN digital educational game on the motivation and learning of dyslexic students in the second grade of elementary school.

In view of the practical purpose and method of data collection, the present research was conducted quasi-experimentally using pre-tests and post-tests. The statistical population of this research included all students with dysgraphia in the second grade of Baharestan city who studied in the academic year 2017-2018. For this research, firstly, a school in Tehran province in Baharestan city was randomly selected. Then, 32 students who met the conditions of the study were selected among the students with learning disabilities. The following instruments were used in this study: 1. A teacher-made test to investigate the effects of games on learning of dyslexic students 2. Harter's academic motivation questionnaire to measure students' academic motivation 3. Clinical interviews with teachers 4. Spelling disorder test to select a sample of dyslexic Then, according to the pretest, the students were divided into two experimental group and a control group.

After collecting statistical data from the pretest, posttest, and learning and motivation test, the data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software in two parts: descriptive statistics (mean, median, mode, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (variance and covariance analysis). The results of the covariance analysis of the effect of the pretest on the total academic motivation score show that there was a statistical difference between the mean academic motivation score of the dyslexic students in the experimental group and the control group. The results of the covariance analysis of the effect of the pretest on the total learning score also showed that there was a statistical difference between the average learning score of the dyslexic students in the experimental group and the control group.

The results of the research showed that the use of educational game is effective in motivating (P<0. 01) and learning (P<0. 01) students with dysgraphia in the second grade. ARIAN digital educational game was able to significantly increase students' motivation and learning due to its features such as purposefulness and attention to students' needs, providing immediate feedback, providing suitable opportunities for trial and error and turning a negative and stressful atmosphere into an atmosphere full of trust and motivation, using communication channels such as text, speech, image, music and movement in education, the activeness of students in the learning process, the student-centeredness of the teaching and learning process and the use of multiple senses, it was able to significantly increase the motivation and learning of students.