Mathematical games are widely used in primary school classrooms, yet the activities that are labelled as "games" vary considerably in their structure, cognitive demands, and potential to support student reasoning. This conceptual paper offers a typology that distinguishes between pseudo-games, superficial games, gamification, and…

Background/purpose: Several previous studies have attempted to develop Android learning media for elementary students beginning to learn counting. However, no media with a levelled adventure theme exists. The purpose of this research is to develop an android-based learning media, B'Math, to improve elementary students' counting skills.…

Aim/Purpose: This study examines the relationship between primary school teachers' knowledge and their acceptance of digital game-based learning (DGBL) in mathematics teaching. Background: The rapid integration of digital technology in education highlights the potential of DGBL in primary mathematics education. Despite its advantages, the…

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.

Game-based learning has received increasing attention in recent years as it could help improve pupils' motivation, self-efficacy, and achievement. Technological innovations like learning analytics (LA) and GBL offer pedagogical support for teachers. GBL could significantly support pupils' learning as a learning approach compared to conventional…

Using game-based learning (GBL) and digital game-based learning (DGBL) as a teaching and learning environment can be a pedagogical resource and a good strategy in the classroom to support mathematical learning (Santos et al., 2023). Even though primary school teachers are demonstrating strong preferences for using non-digital games instead of…

This article describes how the authors developed the activity Speaqual to enable their students to "speak" about the "equal" sign and foster communication of their reasoning. The article explains how to play Speaqual and how the students were thoroughly engaged in a friendly competition, centralizing algebraic concepts and…

We report on a large-scale, log-based study of the associations between persistence and success in an online game-based learning environment for elementary school mathematics. While working with applets, learners can rerun a task after completing it or can halt before completing and rerun it again; both of these mechanisms may improve the score.…

Popularly used in marketing and business, gamification has been gaining interest in educational contexts for its potential to invigorate otherwise mundane or difficult processes. A gamified environment transfers motivational elements of games to learning activities thereby engaging learners in the learning task thus transforming dull classroom…

The problem of rote-based learning in mathematics is well documented. Mobile technology can provide a potential solution, especially when application (app) design is based on sound pedagogical principles and gamification elements. However, an inventory of available mobile apps for mathematics reveals that many of the available apps are guided by a…

Students across the nation struggle with learning mathematics for a variety of reasons such as the abstract nature, there is only one correct answer and how math is foundational. With the recent increase in the use of digital programs, school districts across the nation have turned to digital math programs for math intervention and learning.…

Mathematical learning has an important role and is often prioritized in education. In K-16 education, algebra is one of the most vital mathematical content domains: it represents one of the top barriers for students pursuing a postsecondary education. Game-based learning has been effective in fostering classroom math learning environments that are…

Background/purpose: This article aims to analyze the use of serious games from the Hypatiamat Platform to promote mental arithmetic in a first-grade primary school class in an Exploratory Teaching environment. Materials/methods: This study is mixed, interpretative, and action-research in design. It quantitatively analyses the students' Level of…

In this article, the authors share how gameplay with dominoes can leverage students' quantitative reasoning to promote number development and additive reasoning. This article explores three domino games (Basic Dominoes, Just Before/Just After, and Ten Train), and considers the following: (1) rules and details; (2) students' subitizing and unit…

In this article, we conduct a qualitative systematic review of studies examining the use of digital games to promote students' mathematical reasoning in primary and lower secondary schools. Digital games now have a prominent role in students' leisure time, as has mathematical reasoning in curricula around the world. This study investigates how the…