Deliverable 1: Literature Review (Kaleidoscope task D40.1.1)

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If you wish to cite this document, please use these references:

Mor, Y., Winters, N., Cerulli, M. and Björk, S (2006): Literature review on the use of games in mathematical learning, Part I: Design. Report of the Learning Patterns for the Design and Deployment of Mathematical Games project.

Alexopoulou, E., Bennerstedt, U., Childs, M., Jonker, V., Kynigos, C., Pratt, D., and Wijers, M. (2006): Literature review on the use of games in mathematical learning, Part II: Deployment. Report of the Learning Patterns for the Design and Deployment of Mathematical Games project.

BibTex (BibSonomy): Part I , Part II

Executive Summary

Part I:

The goals of this literature review are to:

• Summarise the current state-of-the-art in design approaches to learning
• Delineate these approaches in relation to the design of mathematical games
• Detail past and current use of commercially and academically developed games for mathematics education
• Explain what a design pattern is
• Discuss the use of design patterns for learning
• Highlight the development of game design patterns and provide examples
• Provide a motivation for the creation of learning patterns for mathematical games

We provide a detailed account of the development of mathematical games and the wide range of design approaches taken to address this issue. Specifically, we promote the use of a design patterns approach in order to facilitate good learning design practice. This is characterised as a process of developing learning patterns, which will form one of the outputs of this project. We discuss the benefits of the patterns approach generally, but moreover, detail the pedagogical facets of software design patterns, the extension and adaptation of game design patterns and the relationship between design patterns and didactic functionalities.

This forms the basis for our belief in the potential for the design patterns approach (through learning patterns) to enable the development of pedagogically sound and innovative mathematical games.

Part II:

Deployment of mathematical games is largely concerned with what happens after a game is designed, and needs to take into account the attitudes and experience of the individual teacher, the classroom environment, and the motivation and prior learning of the students (that is, prior knowledge of the subject and prior knowledge of games). Games are located in a specific cultural milieu, which requires consideration in addition to the usual e-learning implementation. The literature has many example of the use of games in education, but these are mainly examples of commercial simulation games being reapplied to an educational context. Games for mathematics education are usually smaller games that have been specifically designed to teach mathematics. Both situations have found the value of games to be the increased motivation of students, and also promote the empowerment and autonomy of students over their learning, and support constructivist models of learning. Developments within the multiplayer online gaming may be able to be exploited in collaborative learning within education, but this is constrained by teachers' exposure to these forms of gaming.