Effectiveness of Game-Based Learning in Enhancing Attitudes and Achievement in Statistics and Probability among Science Stream Undergraduates in Malaysia

The study used a quantitative quasi-experimental design. The participants were 305 undergraduate students enrolled in a statistics and probability course at a Malaysian public university. A total of 180 students joined the game-based learning group, while 125 students joined the traditional instruction group. Data were collected using the Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics (SATS-36), a statistics and probability achievement test, and a Game-Based Learning Perception Survey administered to the only experimental group. The four-week intervention covered key probability topics, including set theory, counting rules, permutations, combinations, conditional probability, and Bayes’ theorem. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent-samples t-tests. The findings showed that students in the game-based learning group had significantly more positive attitudes toward statistics in affect, cognitive competence, value, and difficulty than students in the traditional instruction group. They also achieved significantly higher scores in statistics and probability. These findings suggest that game-based learning can improve both attitudes and achievement in statistics education.