Education Endowment Foundation:EEF blog: purposeful, playful practice

Rolling a 2 for the win. Can I do it? The tension. I shake. A lucky kiss of my clenched fist. Then release…

The die rolls across the table and finally it rests. Eagerly we look. It’s a 2! Victory is mine! I have beaten Devin. We laugh and high five.

​“Play again,” she shouts. So, we place our tokens back at the starting position and repeat the process.

As I continue playing with Devin, I glance around and scan the classroom. There’s the clatter of dice, the chatter of children, the cries of glee when a winner is hailed.

But importantly, I see fully engaged children. I hear purposeful mathematical talk. I feel children’s confidence growing through playful practice.

Delivering high-quality teaching is essential to achieving the best outcomes for all pupils. Teaching approaches that ensure long-term retention of knowledge and fluency in key skills is crucial.

Children need frequent opportunities to practise new mathematical skills to transfer the information learned in guided practice to their long-term memory.

Purposeful, Playful Practice

We all know games can be enjoyed with our families and friends, at parties and on a rainy Sunday afternoon. But could they be a purposeful tool for the classroom?

Reflecting upon my own classroom practice, I had moved away from using games in recent times. I wonder why? Was it another consequence of COVID-19 related disruption?

Research shows that children’s attainment has been negatively impacted by the pandemic, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds and our youngest children. Not only that, but children’s motivation and confidence has suffered.

Now is the time to remember the importance of deliberately creating meaningful mathematical learning opportunities which motivate the younger mathematicians we teach.

Recommendation 2 of EEF’s ​‘Improving Mathematics in the IEarly Years and Key Stage 1’ guidance report states the importance of dedicating time for young children to learn and integrate mathematics throughout the day. It highlights the importance of exploring mathematics through different contexts, such as including books, puzzles, songs, rhymes, and games.

Opportunity for Promoting High-Quality Talk

There is a wealth of evidence, which indicates that talk can play an important role in supporting mathematical learning.

A well-designed game can be an opportunity to promote rich mathematical discussion. When playing, children may discuss strategies, deepen their mathematical understanding, and apply what they have learned in a new context.

Playing the simple board game, was a motivating opportunity for Devin to practise adding three 1‑digit numbers. It generated repeated practice as every space she landed on there was a question to be answered. Repetition built confidence and it allowed for focussed mathematical discussions. Children talked about near doubles and number bonds to ten as mental strategies for addition. They proved their answers using the counters and tens frames.

Deliberately planned activities like these can develop mathematical knowledge, for Devin and countless young children getting to grips with mathematics. If games can play a part in our carefully crafted maths lessons, it is the purpose of them we need to consider.

Rolling a die isn’t about luck. It’s about probability. Teaching and learning aren’t a game of luck either. It is about us, as teachers, making decisions about what is best for the children and the context. By making evidence-informed decisions about what is best for the children in our class, we are increasing the probability of making a difference.