Students play games for a multitude of reasons, including having fun, learning, as a form of escapism and to process information. During lockdown, online gaming has risen to unprecedented levels of popularity, because many young people have been required to stay indoors.
For many years teachers have captured the benefit of harnessing the learning potential of games, but in this education landscape it has become imperative. By weaving online puzzles and competitive games into homework tasks and summer activities, teachers can reduce maths anxieties amongst their students and promote the subject as a fun and challenging exercise.
Here’s how maths teachers can utilise edtech to gamify maths, to boost engagement and make lessons more exciting for students this summer.
Address maths anxiety
Maths anxiety can cause children physical and mental distress, such as heart palpitations and mental health challenges. It can also lead students to poorer performances in standardised testing and school exams, because they expect to score badly.
Additionally, new research has shown maths anxiety can impact a student’s ability to learn new mathematical concepts and procedures , as they are likely to assume they will fail before they even begin the process of learning.
Turning this maths anxiety into confidence is important because maths principles underpin many other subjects such as science, design and world issues. Additionally, this transformation is crucial to a student’s self-esteem and the maths skills that will serve them for a lifetime.