Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of Number Pattern Games Based on Student Feedback

Purpose: Learning through games in education allows students to learn in an interactive environment while having fun, making logical inferences, and solving problems. The games are created by arranging numbers in 3x3 squares using consecutive terms of a fixed, increasing number pattern so that the sums of the numbers horizontally, vertically, and diagonally are equal. While playing the games, skills such as establishing relationships between numbers, performing operations, reasoning, and recognizing patterns are used. This study aims to reveal the knowledge, skills, and thoughts acquired by students regarding intelligence and reasoning games obtained from consecutive terms of number patterns with constant differences, by consulting their opinions. Method: The research was conducted using case study design, a qualitative research method. Four participants were selected from different schools at each grade level, from 5th to 8th grade. A semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher was applied in the study. The data obtained were analyzed using content analysis, which is more commonly preferred in qualitative research and provides detailed information. Findings: It was observed that students initially struggled to decipher the strategy of the games, but as the games progressed, they arrived at the solution by discovering the correct strategy. Some students developed similar games using close or distant consecutive terms of new number patterns. Conclusion: As a result, interviews with students who played the game revealed that they acquired skills such as problem-solving, establishing relationships between numbers, discovering number patterns, making logical inferences, reasoning, and performing calculations.