Games as STEAM learning enhancers. Application of traditional Jamaican games in Early Childhood and Primary Intercultural Education

Abstract

Background: Despite its social importance, the learning associated with STEAM thinking (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) we consider is not fully developed in classrooms. Objectives: This research proposes to promote STEAM skills through game-based learning.. Design: These were used to design an integrated educational proposal, called the Micro Play Project (MPL), following the principles of game-based learning and an intercultural approach focused on Ethnomathematics. Setting and Participants: This MPL was implemented in a Spanish school with small groups of students from Preschool and Primary Education, dedicating three sessions to each of the four games, which were recorded on video. Data collection and analysis: Studying the Jamaican culture, we discovered that the game is a relevant cultural sign in Jamaica, we compiled and analyzed its traditional games, generating a catalog, from which we selected four games, for their potential to develop STEAM learning at school .Qualitative-interpretive research was carried out through a case study and content analysis, using a proprietary tool. Results: they are diverse skills, artistic, scientific and mathematical manifested when playing, such as: musical sense, detection of similarities, ability to turn, identification of shapes, estimation of distances, formulation of hypotheses and establishment of relationships by criteria, which have confirmed the didactic potential of these games, in an environment of ethnomathematical intercultural education. Conclusions: The validity of the MPL as a didactic method to develop STEAM learning is deduced from the results. We hope to strengthen and spread this method by making new elaborations and applications of MPL.

Implementation of a Playful Microproject Based on Traditional Games for Working on Mathematical and Scientific Content

“…In consideration of these ideas, it becomes necessary to highlight that, despite their importance in current and future society, the skills associated with scientific thinking are often not developed in the classroom and, therefore, need to be promoted through educational and cultural tools, such as games [10]. To the point of taking it as a reference for an educational research project that has been taking shape for a number of years, and which has, as its precedents, various studies on play, its classifications and potential for working on mathematical and scientific content [11][12][13]. This project comprises four components: anthropological study, analytical study, educational study, and field research (Figure 1).…”

STEM/STEAM in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS): A Systematic Review

“…Both educational approaches are usually associated with meaningful (scaffolded in previous knowledge [42]), active (involving students' actions [43]), and authentic (contextualised in natural settings [44]) learning. In this sense, they are usually conducted through active teaching methodologies such as project/problem/inquiry-based learning and aligned with playful learning [45], such as in free or guided play [46,47], games [48], and gamification [35].…”

educación STEAM y el aprendizaje lúdico en todos los niveles educativos

“…Para ejemplificar la integración de varias disciplinas desde una actividad lúdica se puede recordar, por ejemplo, la propuesta de Bagiati y Evangelou (2016) dónde los niños desarrollan conocimientos y habilidades de ingeniería y matemáticas mientras juegan libremente haciendo construcciones con bloque; o cuando los niños se convierten en ingenieros para construir una máquina voladora para ayudar a un dragón en el juego guiado de Stephenson et al (2021). Asimismo, mediante el desarrollo del conocimiento científico-matemático contextualizado a partir de la sensibilidad musical desde el juego tradicional de Jamaica, sugerido por Espigares-Gámez et al (2020). En STEAM, los problemas deben admitir más de una solución posible, requiriendo del alumnado una aproximación iterativa que nos es, por lo tanto, linear y directa.…”