Personalized Learning Pathways Through Game-Based Media: How Associative Skills Modulate Early Literacy Development in Kindergarten Children
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24667/jcen.v1i3.79Keywords:
Game-based learning, Early literacy development, Associative skills, Individual differences, Personalized learning, Kindergarten, Factorial designAbstract
Early literacy development is a critical foundation for children's educational success, yet significant variability exists in how children benefit from different learning modalities. This study investigates how associative cognitive skills modulate the effectiveness of game-based literacy media on kindergarten children's early reading and writing abilities. Using a 2×2 factorial experimental design with 60 participants (M age = 5.2 years) drawn from ABA Kindergartens in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, we compared children's literacy outcomes across literacy-rich versus traditional game media, stratified by high and low associative abilities. Two-way ANOVA results revealed significant main effects for both media type (F(1,56) = 6.579, p < 0.05) and associative ability (F(1,56) = 8.827, p < 0.01), with a highly significant interaction effect (F(1,56) = 35.309, p < 0.01). Children exposed to literacy-rich game media demonstrated higher early reading and writing scores (M = 69.07, SD = 6.51) compared to traditional media (M = 66.30, SD = 4.77). Critically, high associative ability children benefited substantially more from literacy media (Tukey Q = 8.498, p < 0.01), while low associative ability children showed a paradoxical reverse pattern. These findings suggest that effective early literacy interventions require personalized pathways that consider children's individual cognitive profiles, supporting a tailored approach to early childhood education that integrates both media selection and cognitive skill development. The strong interaction effect indicates that one-size-fits-all pedagogical approaches may inadequately address individual learning differences in early literacy.
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