An Exploratory Study of Game-Based Approaches in Primary Mathematics and Science Classrooms in Trinidad and Tobago

Non-Digital Games That Promote Mathematical Learning in Primary Years Students: A Systematic Review

“…The types of games provided can be classified into board games [36,40,[42][43][44][45][46][47], card games [16,32,36,41,[47][48][49][50], calculator games [12], puzzles [45,51], drama-based games [52,53], outdoor activity games, including sport [35,54,55], game-based worksheets [56], the traditional Indonesian game Jirak [57], fractions manipulatives game [31], and tangram and origami [58]. The remaining studies incorporated multiple types of games into a single study and included but were not limited to self-made games from paper bags, dice games, bingo, battleship, finger twister, deal or no deal, and pattern blocks [15,32,37,39,[59][60][61].…”

“…Overall, 30 studies utilized games that could be classified to mathematics content areas [63], with two studies providing insufficient detail to be given a mathematical content classification [43,57]. In addition, four studies were classified to two content areas, including geometry and measurement [58], geometry and multiplication [56], geometry and strategy, logic and reasoning [32], and addition and subtraction and multiplication and division [48]. The majority of studies (18) had links to various areas of number and operations.…”

“…The majority of studies (18) had links to various areas of number and operations. The next most common content area being geometry (6), probability was the focus in two papers [39,60], and Kaloo et al [58] was the only paper to explore measurement in games.…”

“…Interestingly, the analysis revealed that there was a noticeable absence of games employed that focused on exploring measurement. Only one paper described the experience of playing a measurement-focused game [58]. Furthermore, it is worth noting that no games centered on statistics were identified in our review.…”

“…Similarly, Debrenti and Laszlo [48] observed significant improvements in the experimental group's mental computation skills and efficiency in problem solving. Kaloo et al [58] demonstrated a significant improvement in students' academic performance, specifically in geometry content knowledge, through game-based teaching. Liang et al [37] found that an intervention targeting number sense resulted in significant improvement, which persisted for two months.…”