The Use of Game Puzzle Application for presenting Arithmetic Problems

Mathematics is one of the courses taught at every level of education in some countries. Some students still find math a scary subject. One of the reasons is because students are not familiar with the basics of arithmetic. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether students are motivated, interested, and faster in learning mathematics by comparing two approaches that were used to presents the basic arithmetic problems. The first approach used a white paper - so-called manual approach. The next approach was utilized an android app - called an application approach. For each approach, the students ($\mathrm{n}=40$) were asked to pay attention when answering all questions. The completion time data was recorded and obtained. Furthermore, the students were required to give assessments for two approaches on whether they think each approach could increase motivation and interest to learn. The student judgments were obtained using a 5-point rating scale. The results indicated that the students needed more time to answer 40 arithmetic questions using the manual approach as compared when the students using the application approach. The application approach was also regarded as more motivating and interesting than the manual approach when the arithmetic questions were presented. The results thus suggested that the game-puzzle application was an appropriate approach to present the arithmetic questions.