The Future of Education

This paper reports on two studies. The first study looked at hands-on and digital games and compared their use in Canada and in China, in grades 1-6. The second study looked at the use of coding puzzles as a way of bringing mathematics to life and engaging students with concepts and relationships, in grades 3-8. Games are a widely used tool in Canadian and Chinese classrooms to enhance students' mathematical learning. Math games are most commonly found in the lower grades (grades one to three), with more than half of these games focusing on number skills. Calculation games are the most prevalent, while games related to other math concepts, such as geometry, algebra, and statistics, are less common. While many of these games incorporate hands-on materials, engaging contexts, and elements of student autonomy to foster an understanding of mathematical concepts, most remain at a basic level of mathematics. These games often rely on question-and-answer formats to practice fundamental math concepts and skills and lack connections to big mathematical ideas. Furthermore, they do not offer opportunities for students to share their thinking strategies and original products. To address these limitations, integrating new technologies, such as coding, could provide a solution. In our work in grades 3-8 classrooms, we note that coding has the potential to create more intellectually stimulating math engagement that not only makes learning easier but also encourages deeper thinking and understanding, by providing a lower floor for younger students to participate while offering a higher ceiling that challenges them to think hard (Gadanidis, G.,2014).

Keywords: Math games, puzzles, coding, Canada, China.

REFERENCES

[1] Gadanidis, G. (2014). WHY YOU HATE MATH AND HOW TO FEEL THE LOVE! IN SEARCH OF COOL ANSWERS TO “WHAT DID YOU DO IN MATH TODAY?” Ontario Mathematics Gazette, 52(4), 37–37.