Play as a mediator in the teaching of mathematics: an experience in Educational Practice IV of the Mathematics Teaching Degree at UNLPam

Abstract

This paper describes and analyzes an educational experience developed in the course Práctica Educativa IV of the Mathematics Teacher Education Program at the National University of La Pampa. The experience focused on the use of games as mediators in mathematics teaching and in the professional development of future teachers. The main objective was to promote reflection on the pedagogical value of games, distinguishing them from playful activities and gamification, while encouraging the design and implementation of game-based resources with clear educational purposes for secondary education. The proposal involved different stages of analysis, discussion, and creation of teaching resources, including mathematical escape rooms, a mathematical rosco game, geometric card games, and a mathematics Jeopardy. The experience enabled participants to identify criteria for selecting and designing educational games and to analyze their potential to foster active participation, argumentation, decision-making, strategic thinking, and the construction of mathematical knowledge. Findings suggest that the educational value of games lies not only in their motivational potential but also in the pedagogical intentionality guiding their use. Furthermore, the experience helped student teachers rethink the role of games in their future teaching practices, recognizing them as a strategy capable of promoting more meaningful, reflective, and participatory mathematics learning.