Do Australian primary school teachers prefer digital or non-digital games to support mathematics instruction?

Dr James Russo from Monash University, Australia, will be presenting his recent research into teachers' use of mathematical games in primary school classrooms, with a particular focus on digital versus non-digital games. Although research has revealed similar cognitive and affective benefits to using non-digital and digital games in the primary mathematics classroom, previous studies have tended to not consider teacher views concerning the types of games they prefer to utilise to support instruction. Dr Russo will present findings from a recent pair of studies he undertook, both which support the notion that most teachers prefer using non-digital games over digital games, principally for pedagogical reasons. These included elements such as non-digital games’ enhanced capacity to promote collaboration and communication, that non-digital games could be more easily adapted by the teacher to suit the learning needs of students, and that non-digital games afforded the students opportunities to engage with manipulatives and concrete materials that would support their mathematics learning. Teachers also indicated that it was easier to monitor and assess students when they were engaged in a non-digital game, and that they valued the fact that choosing to use non-digital games rather than a digital game reduced the amount of screen time students were exposed to. Dr Russo will facilitate a discussion about the possible implications and future directions of his research.