Impact of Digital and Non-Digital Educational Games on Grade 1 Students’ Engagement and Academic Achievement

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of digital (online) and non-digital (offline) educational games on academic achievement and student engagement among Grade 1 learners in mathematics and geography, drawing on constructivist learning principles and self-determination theory to frame how game-based activities support autonomy, competence, and relatedness. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design was employed with two intact classes (N = 50) from a public school in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Students were assigned to either an online game-based instructional condition or an offline game-based condition, and both groups participated in six weeks of structured game-integrated lessons. Data were collected through academic assessments, engagement checklists, motivation surveys, and teacher observations. Results show that both digital and non-digital games produced measurable gains in mathematics and geography scores, with the online group demonstrating slightly higher improvement percentages; however, independent t-tests indicated no statistically significant differences between groups (p > 0.05, d = 0.12–0.18). Engagement and motivation remained high across both conditions, with offline games generating marginally stronger participation and task completion. Correlation analyses revealed weak associations between engagement indicators and academic achievement, suggesting that academic improvement may depend on factors beyond observable engagement alone. These findings highlight that integrating both digital and hands-on game-based strategies can offer flexible, practical approaches for enhancing early-grade learning in diverse classroom settings.