This may be why many educators are turning to Prodigy to help motivate their students and enrich the mathematics curriculum.Ĭritique and Implications for Education Benefits (2020), found that students playing Prodigy were highly engaged in the storyline, and were motivated to work on math questions in order to increase their levels in the game. In a study of Grades 1 to 4 students in two different elementary schools, Morrison et al. Studies show that math apps help to improve student learning and specifically help struggling students lessen the academic gap (Zhang, M., Trussell, R. Prodigy is appealing to young students because it uses game-like elements, such as colourful digital aesthetics, diverse avatars, meaningful choice, game points and leaderboards in order to increase motivation (Albertazzi et al., 2018 Ferrara, 2012). Gamification uses “game design elements in non-game contexts” (Deterding et al., 2011, p. Prodigy is an example of a popular math app that is based upon the idea of gamification. With an increase in households and schools having access to tablet computers, math apps are becoming increasingly popular to engage students in mathematics (Zhang et al., 2015).

Prodigy offers questions that cover a wide range of thinking skills including fluency, knowledge and interpretation, with the ultimate goal of not only understanding content but in the independent application of knowledge (Prodigy, n.d.). The game’s content also aligns with curriculum in the United States, Australia, India and England. In Canada, the content students are challenged with aligns with the Ontario mathematics curriculum. The math questions are aligned to curricular standards based on a player’s geographical location. The ability to cast spells to battle wizards and move up levels requires students to accurately answer mathematical questions. The concept of the game is centered around a mythical fantasy world, where students are challenged to conquer quests in order to defeat the evil Puppet Master.

Prodigy is an online, self-paced mathematics game for students in Grades 1 to 8. Summary: An online math game for students in Grades 1-8 that is based on curricular standards.

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