Summer 2004

Talking Maths

Games Can Help Get Reluctant Learners Into Maths

When children enjoy what they do, are motivated and have an interest in the outcome, it is more likely that learning will take place. ANN DOWNTON identifies some common characteristics of reluctant learners and details some games to engage, motivate and challenge all children to ‘have a go’.

WHEN TALKING to primary teachers about their classroom practice, the concern about ways to motivate and engage reluctant learners in mathematics learning is often raised. My initial response is to have the teachers describe some of these children.

Common characteristics include feeling anxious about mathematics and having a fear of failure, seeing little relevance in what they do in the classroom, lacking confidence in their mathematical ability, showing a feeling of frustration, lacking in motivation and frequently being off task, or no longer finding math-ematics interesting or challenging.

It appears that children’s beliefs, attitudes and feelings about mathematics and how they see themselves as mathematical learners are formed largely from their experiences in mathematics classes and can impact on participation and learning. So what is the key to turning some of these beliefs, attitudes and feelings around?

In many walks of life the ‘buzz’ word is motivation, which is seen to have a significant influence on attitude, and in turn is seen to impact upon performance and output. When motivation is high, performance is enhanced, and output increased, as evidenced by our successful athletes, sporting teams and businesses. Similarly, we need to find ways to motivate children who do not enjoy, or are reluctant to engage in, mathematics. Games provide teachers with a way of building the children’s interest towards mathematics and stimulate intrinsic motivation (engaging in learning for its own sake and enjoying it). Creating an engaging and supportive learning environment in which learning is seen as fun, relevant and challenging, and children’s efforts and attempts are valued, is another important consideration in turning beliefs, attitudes and feelings around.

How do we motivate and engage children in the mathematics classroom?

In days gone by, dice, dominoes and playing cards featured prominently in childhood recreational activities. During these times we would have fun, be engaged, use strategic thinking, mathematical skills and be highly motivated. Most children find that games are fun and enjoyable, but can be challenging at the same time. Games allow children some control of their own learning and have the potential to help them build and strengthen the mathematical ideas in their minds. While playing a game, children are actively involved in their learning, and have the opportunity to interact with others and engage in mathematical discussion about the mathematical concepts and strategies that underpin it. The teacher’s role during this is to encourage children to share their thinking and strategies with others.

Tips for the classroom

In selecting a game we need to keep in mind the reluctant learners and ensure the mathematics inherent in the game is within the realm of their mathematics experiences. In this way we maximise their chance of experiencing success, and at the same time they can feel challenged and part of the group. Choosing games that can be easily adapted (extended or modified), such as Snap (which can be adapted as Snap 2 more or 2 less than the number) are preferable to those that rely on quick recall of facts, such as multiplication tables races.

Classroom snippets

Recently I played a game of Three in a row number line in a year 1/2 class. The mathematics focus was place value, visualisation and strategic thinking. In introducing the game we talked about ways to create two-digit numbers by rolling two 10-sided dice. Two children recorded their choice (eg 3 and 6 rolled could be used as 36 or 63) on a blank card and placed it on a large floor number line (markings for the decade numbers from 0 to 100 were indicated) and the aim of the game was explained (getting three numbers in a row without someone else blocking their path by placing a number in-between). For example, Amy chose 36 and Sam chose 72.

Children played the game in pairs on a prepared number line but were interrupted after a short time as I noticed that many children were focussing on making the largest number they could (not something I had envisaged would happen) and were having difficulty getting a winner as they were blocking each other’s moves in consecutive rolls. We recapped on the purpose of the game and modelled it again as a class before they resumed play in pairs. During the playing all the children were engaged, even the reluctant learners. In discussion later some said it was fun or good because there was a choice, it wasn’t a race, they took it in turns and everyone had a chance to win. Others said it was fun because they could work on the floor with special dice (10-sided), big number lines and make their own number cards (blank cards to record the numbers used) which they could take home and play a game of ‘What’s my number?’ or ‘ Highest number wins’ (all numbers are face down on the table and children turn over a card; the winner is the player whose number is the highest) with their friends and family.

Dominoes provide an opportunity to develop or reinforce aspects of number and problem-solving skills and are another way to motivate, engage and challenge reluctant learners. Dominoes, especially large floor dominoes, are a novelty for many children. I played a game of ‘Quick as a flash’ with children in another year 1/2 class using large floor dominoes. The children each turned over one domino simultaneously and added the dots to find the sum and the person with the higher total won a point for the round. We stopped to discuss the strategies used to add the number of dots (eg count all the dots by ones, count on from one part of the frame to the other).

This gave the children an opportunity to try something different next time and to suggest ideas to extend the game or challenge themselves. For example, one challenge suggested was to each turn over two dominoes simultaneously and find the total number of dots on the two dominoes. The winner is the player with the higher sum.

The children enjoyed working with dominoes in this way and were willing to discuss with others how they worked out the solution. The reluctant learners were able to use the dots if they needed the visual cues or could extend themselves, such as finding the difference between the two dominoes.

Tricky-target is a card game that children in year 3/4 really enjoy. It focusses on different ways of combining numbers using the four processes and children sharing their strategic thinking. The aim is to use all five cards dealt to each player and any of the processes to achieve the target. The target is determined by turning over the next two cards from the dealer pack. In playing the game with a year 3/4 class, I found that the children initially competed against each other to be the first to reach the target, as is the intention, but after a short period of time the competitive element diminished and they were trying to see how many could get close to the target. The engagement in mathematics discussions was evident during this time, as was the encouragement and support for each other.

As teachers we need to find effective ways to engage and motivate children to learn mathematics so that their reluctance is no longer an inhibitor to their learning. Games using dice, dominoes or playing cards are one way to do this. Open-ended tasks are another effective approach to engage a range of learners. Whatever context we use, we need to ensure the selected tasks engage, motivate and challenge all the children to ‘have a go’. For when children enjoy what they do, are motivated and have an interest in the outcome, it is more likely that learning will take place.

Ann Downton is a lecturer in Mathematics Education at Australian Catholic University.

The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au