Abstract
Minecraft has become one of the most popular videogames worldwide. Also, their didactical interface, Minecraft Education Edition can be used to generate an educational resource. To provide evidence-based recommendations for the use of this software in multilingual contexts, this chapter presents both some useful tools to propose math problems and an exemplification of the application of this resource for the reinforcement of mathematical content. For this, the theoretical references, the assembly of the server, and the way to implement the practice of mathematics are explained. Also, methodological recommendations of cooperative learning through technological tools with the interest of fostering the reasoning and argumentation in math problems resolutions are given. In conclusion, the inclusion of this game in this educational proposal is expected to increase affectivity towards mathematics.
TopBackground
This proposal is based on promoting a playful learning and practice environment in which students have a participatory role. To do this, authors will start from Piaget's constructivist base defined in the 20th century that stated: “People do not understand, nor do they immediately use the information that is provided to them. Instead, the individual feels the need to “construct” his own knowledge” (Piaget, 1955). On the other hand, and with the interest of promoting argumentation in problem-solving among the students participating in the experience, it is considered the possibility of designing a collection of problems that favors reasoning among the participating students. This type of proposal allows students to develop both their mathematical competence and their linguistic competence (Ramírez-Uclés et al., 2018).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Motivational Tool: Strategies and resources to foster affectivity towards learning.
Minecraft Education Edition: Version of the Minecraft platform, developed in 2016, with a teaching approach that facilitates interaction among its participants and dynamizes the learning-teaching process.
Cooperative Learning: Instructional strategy that enables small groups of students to work together on a common task in order to achieve greater academic and personal development.
Game-Based Learning: Emerging didactic methodology focused on adapting the content of games and video games to offer an immersive experience and effective development of both skills and knowledge.
Problem-Solving: Mathematics question-solving process without a clear pathway.
Wise and Write: Methodological strategy of cooperative learning. It consists of one student writing down the answers while the other student explains.
Mathematical Creativity: Ability that allows students to think of different methods for solving problems in mathematics.