Conceptions and Instructional Strategies of Pre-Service Teachers towards Digital Game based Learning Integration in the Primary Education Curriculum

Learning Through Play And Games

Playing is often considered as antonym of working or learning. While working and learning are considered serious activities involving an important and socially relevant effort, playing is considered as a diversion that should be earned after a hard period of work or learning. However, researchers in the field of educational sciences and game based learning (GBL) have pointed out the importance of play in the learning process, especially with children. Learning through play allows the exploration of different types of phenomena and concepts in a controlled environment. Game rules help to scaffold the social interactions in cooperative and competitive games. Overall, games offer an organized form of play that could be mobilized for learning purposes. Research conducted over the past decades allow us to see the interest of learning through playing for both young learners (Androussou, Kourti, & Askouni, 2013; Connolly, Boyle, MacArthur, Hainey, & Boyle, 2012), adults (Pivec & Dziabenko, 2004; Romero, Usart, & Ott, 2015) and elders (Charlier, Ott, Remmele, & Whitton, 2012).