In a modern world, there is a growing need for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills. This poses a great challenge to mathematics teachers and all educators involved. Teaching mathematics by using innovative, creative and modern methods is a way to decrease the number of students with insufficient skills in the field of mathematics, which is one of the goals of European Cooperation in Education and Training (ET 2020). Furthermore, this is a way to motivate students to choose a university in the STEM area, which is one of the priorities under Horizon 2020. Making better use of digital technology for teaching and learning and developing digital competences and skills are also priorities of the 2018 Digital Education Action Plan of the European Commission. Since students spend a lot of time in a digital environment, it is their natural environment. The aim of the project is to direct student knowledge of digital games and their connection thereto to enhance their mathematical skills. Since teachers should have a leading role in this process, we will develop educational materials which will be useful to all mathematics teachers who would like to use game-based learning (GBL) founded on digital technology. The main goal of the project is to create a GAMMA handbook for teachers, focused authoring systems (FAS) for the production of digital games, a teaching scenario template, eight teaching scenario examples and five games connected with them based on GBL for mathematics curriculum topics for students aged 14-18 years in all project countries. The target group are mathematics teachers who teach students of the said age. The aim of the project is to develop teacher competences in GBL and encourage them to use and apply digital technologies in their teaching practice. The consortium consists of partners from the following four countries: Croatia, Greece, the Netherlands and Finland. Those are countries with different achievements in the fields of mathematics and science according to PISA 2018 results (Finland and the Netherlands are countries with results above the average, and Croatia and Greece are countries with results under the average). One university, two schools and the Education and Teacher Training Agency (ETTA) are included from Croatia, one university and one school are included from each of the following two countries: Greece and Finland, while one university is included from the Netherlands. These nine institutions will work together on the creation of educational materials. Universities will be responsible for the creation of the handbook for teachers and FAS. During the training activities, participants from each project organisation will be trained on GBL and they will work on the development of a teaching scenario template, eight teaching scenario examples, and five games connected with them based on GBL for mathematics curriculum topics for students aged 14-18 years in all project countries. A scientific approach of universities and experience of schools and the ETTA in the teaching process will guarantee that we will develop high-quality teaching scenario examples and games connected with them. Around 40 educators from universities, schools and the ETTA will be included in the training activities. Teaching scenario examples will be piloted in the real context, i.e., in mathematics classrooms of participating schools and schools from the Netherlands. After the piloting phase, universities will adapt scenarios according to feedback obtained from schools. In local dissemination events in each partner country, we will train 120 school teachers on GBL founded on digital technology and motivate them to use GAMMA educational materials in their teaching process. The final conferences will be held in Croatia and Greece, and they will be used to disseminate the project intellectual outputs among the educational community and encourage teachers, as well as other educational stakeholders, to re-use the project outputs after the end of the project. Through project activities, partnerships between schools and higher education institutions will be developed not only at national, but also at EU level. During project activities, all educators from partner organisations will improve their digital skills and teaching competences. They will also gain insight into other European educational systems and they will develop their language skills. All prepared materials will be adapted to every participating country so that they can be used not only by partner schools, but also by other schools from participating countries. Since all materials will also be available in English, they can be translated to other languages and used in other EU countries. GBL is an upcoming and relevant subject for education in general, not only in mathematics. The GAMMA handbook for teachers can also be used as material which can introduce GBL in other subjects in EU schools.
The overall aim of the project was to promote game-based learning founded on digital technology and increase awareness of the importance of using innovative teaching and learning methods. The project specific objectives were: - to encourage teachers to use and apply digital games in the teaching process; - to develop teachers’ competencies in game-based learning; - to motivate and encourage students to actively construct their mathematical knowledge; - to provide insights into different education systems of European countries; - to foster partnerships between partner organisations at national and EU levels.
Teaching mathematics using innovative methods is a way to reduce the number of students with insufficient skills in mathematics, which was one of the goals of European Cooperation in Education and Training (ET 2020). In addition, it is a way to motivate students to choose a university in the STEM area, which was one of the priorities of Horizon 2020. Making better use of digital technology for teaching and learning and the development of digital competencies and skills were also priorities of the 2018 Digital Education Action Plan of the European Commission. Game-Based Learning (GBL) founded on digital technology is a promising method for students to learn mathematical concepts and practice mathematical skills. The use and implementation of this method is an educational challenge in which teachers play a central role and it is crucial to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills they need to excel in this role. In these contexts, within the GAMMA project we have developed education materials for mathematics teachers who want to integrate GBL founded on digital technology into their teaching practice. The materials could also be useful for teachers of other subjects who wish to integrate this method into their teaching.