In Erin Bryan鈥檚 5th grade math classroom, TGIF takes on a whole new meaning. Fridays don鈥檛 just herald the coming weekend. They鈥檙e also game days.
鈥淭hey all come in here on Fridays pumped,鈥� said Bryan, who teaches at Kenston Intermediate School in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
The math card games and board games that Bryan has collected鈥攐r designed herself鈥攇ive her 5th graders an opportunity to apply the new knowledge they鈥檝e learned throughout the week in different ways, and to solidify practice with basic skills that underpin future units, she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something that makes me happy too, because I can see them making those connections without me,鈥� she added.
Math teachers say that games offer a chance for students to practice math in a lower-stress setting than a classroom lesson, and convey the idea that math can be fun. But figuring out how to fit in time for gameplay during the day鈥攁nd exactly what games will support instructional goals鈥攃an be a challenge.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e teaching upper elementary or middle school math, you also have a host of standards you need to meet,鈥� said Jill Neumayer DePiper, a senior research associate with the mathematics team at WestEd, a research and technical assistance organization. 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 an abundance of time for any sort of game, and any sort of play.鈥�
In a , DePiper and her colleagues at WestEd analyzed five summer and after-school math programs that featured games as a learning tool. By reviewing program data, observing the games, and surveying and interviewing teachers and students, they identified common practices that made these math games effective.
These games hit a 鈥渟weet spot,鈥� DePiper said, in which students get to engage in meaningful play while also addressing math goals.
Effective games support math and social-emotional skills
The WestEd team examined five programs that included game play, or professional development about games:
- Math for Love, an online repository of free games and activities;
- Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, a math education nonprofit that hosts school- and community-based math events;
- Almost Fun, a site that provides free learning resources for middle and high school students;
- NBA Math Hoops, a basketball-themed math board game; and
- Math Teacher Circles, a national network of locally organized teacher collaboratives hosted by the American Institute of Mathematics.
The researchers identified six effective practices among these games鈥攖hree focused on the social-emotional aspects of game play, and three related to mathematical practices. The games:
- Prompted turn-taking to encourage relationships and social interaction;
- Set up opportunities for students to cope with making mistakes;
- Included a built-in reason for students to collaborate;
- Encouraged and prompted generalizations about mathematical properties and relationships;
- Prompted students to change strategies during the game; and
- Provided ways to change the game鈥檚 parameters to allow it to evolve and remain challenging.
鈥淏eing simple to learn was also critical,鈥� said DePiper. Teachers and students have 180 days of work to do, so they can鈥檛 spend precious minutes deciphering and learning complicated rules, she said.
This takeaway resonated with Bryan, the 5th grade teacher. 鈥淵ou want [the students] to be engaged; you don鈥檛 want them to be so confused by the millions of directions they have to follow that they lose enthusiasm,鈥� she said.
Laurie Corradetti, a 3rd grade teacher at Oak Park Elementary in Lansdale, Pa., said the focus on the games鈥� opportunities for collaboration made sense to her. Most of the games she plays in her class rely on turn-taking, she said, giving students a chance to practice working together.
There鈥檚 another social benefit to a small group setting, Bryan said: Students who may be hesitant to volunteer an answer in front of the whole class are more willing to participate with just a few classmates.
鈥淎llowing them to fail, but in a comfortable place, and understand how to persevere鈥擨 think that鈥檚 a huge life skill,鈥� Bryan said.
Skills vs. concepts
When it comes to math content, games should focus on helping students understand overarching concepts鈥攏ot just skills, DePiper said.
An example, she said, is a Math for Love game called It requires students to strategically place numbers within a grid so that the sum doesn鈥檛 exceed 999.
The game鈥檚 primary goal is addition practice. But to be successful, students also need to think carefully about place value, DePiper said.
Still, teachers said that games focused on skill practice do have a place in their classrooms.
Bryan鈥檚 5th graders play a variation of the card game War, designed to help them practice calculating the volume of a shape. In groups of three, one person鈥檚 card represents the length of a shape, the second the width, and the third the height. All three draw cards and then calculate the volume of their rectangular prism together.
Practicing this way helps them get comfortable with new skills, Bryan said. It also reinforces basic multiplication facts, she added鈥攌nowledge that鈥檚 necessary for much of the work that her 5th graders will take on throughout the year.
Even in these skill-based games, there鈥檚 still opportunity for the kind of reflection on strategy that the WestEd researchers highlighted. Bryan regularly asks her students, what could you do differently next time to get better? How would your strategy change?
Teaching with games does require some extra planning from teachers, said Corradetti. 鈥淏ut I think the outcomes definitely outweigh that,鈥� she said.
Corradetti and Bryan observe these outcomes in their classrooms. Students get excited about game time. They make connections to games when they learn new topics. And the teachers see students answer questions more quickly and confidently.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not like I鈥檓 walking around collecting the data, it鈥檚 more of a mental note. I鈥檓 seeing it in their work,鈥� Bryan said.
As for research, the next step for DePiper and her colleagues at WestEd is attempting to formally link game play to student outcomes. They鈥檙e planning projects that would measure the games鈥� effect on students鈥� test scores and math confidence.
Some online games have linked play with increases in student performance, DePiper said, but whether in-person classroom games would have the same effect is an open question.
