Mathematical games can be used to engage learners, promote fluency and deepen conceptual understanding. When considering the level of engagement of students, sometimes a small change can have a large impact. Something as simple as switching dice for cards in a game and, importantly, introducing a 'non-replacement' mechanism to the gameplay, can…

Australian primary school teachers have reported that they use games frequently in teaching mathematics. In this paper, the authors discuss the game mechanics of five types of whole-class games that can be particularly powerful for supporting mathematical thinking and student engagement in mathematics.

Both digital and non-digital games have been shown to be effective for supporting student engagement in mathematics. However, little is known about educator preferences for a particular game mode (i.e. digital versus non-digital), and what factors influence these preferences. To address this gap, 111 Australian primary school educators completed a…

In this paper we explored primary school teachers preference for different game modes to support mathematics teaching and learning. Eighty-four teachers played digital and non-digital addition and subtraction games that were functionally equivalent during professional learning workshops. Most teachers indicated that they would be more likely to…

The transition between arithmetic and algebraic thinking is challenging for students. One notable difficulty for students is understanding algebraic symbols--pronumerals. Researchers are exploring pedagogical approaches in seeking to address this issue. The current paper is contributing to this body of literature by illustrating how an online card…

Mathematical games are widely employed by Australian primary school teachers to support mathematics instruction. Despite broad usage, prior research has not focused on the how and why games are employed from a teacher perspective. Australian primary school teachers (n = 248) completed a questionnaire designed to probe their experience with…

Regular contributors James and Toby Russo return with a sixth principle for educationally-rich mathematical games--almost all mathematical games have the potential to be transformed into an investigation. This article builds on their earlier piece with Leicha A Bragg (APMC 23(3), 30-34). [For "Five Principles of Educationally Rich…

This article describes several ways to connect probability to other topics within mathematics, over a range of year levels, and across the curriculum. It includes a description of common issues and misconceptions, and practical learning activities to address them.

Research examining teachers' decision making is abundant for pedagogical activities, yet a neglected area is the study of factors influencing teachers when selecting mathematical games. This article sheds light on the factors considered when teachers' select a specific game to use in their primary mathematics classroom. Data from 248 Australian…