Gamified, technology-enhanced geometry and symmetry instruction for learners with intellectual disabilities: A design-based study in a Greek special school

Abstract

Geometry and symmetry are fundamental for navigating the world, yet many students with intellectual disabilities (ID) still struggle to fully understand these concepts. This eight-week, three-cycle design-based study explored whether a low-cost blend of gamification and readily available educational technologies could make these concepts more accessible in a Greek Special Vocational Education Laboratory (special secondary school). Six lower-secondary students with moderate ID (mean age = 14.8 years) co-designed and iteratively refined a toolkit that mixed GeoGebra-AR explorations, tablet mini-games, classroom Kahoot challenges, interactive-whiteboard puzzles, and tactile “mirror-tracing” tasks. Preliminary testing showed limited recognition of basic shapes and almost none of reflective symmetry. By the end of the intervention, median correct answers on a 20-item shape test increased from 8 to 17, while symmetry-awareness scores on a 15-item rubric climbed from 4 to 11. Observational checklists documented a steady rise in on-task engagement—from 2.5 to 3.6 on a four-point scale—echoed by “happy-face” exit tickets in almost nine out of ten sessions. Learners also began spontaneously mapping virtual forms onto classroom artefacts (e.g., “This ball is a sphere”), hinting at transfer from the digital to the physical world. Because this approach was applied in a single classroom with a few students, the results cannot be generalised. Even so, they hint that three elements—quick feedback, friendly competition, and presenting ideas in several formats—can together lift understanding for learners with intellectual disabilities. Working side-by-side with the students to shape each activity also seemed to give them a stronger sense of ownership and prompted them to think about how they learn, a step often missed but crucial for lasting progress. Future studies should focus on applying the same approach in larger groups, play with different game features, and test whether carefully structured practice helps these improvements hold and grow over time.