Gamifying CLIL within a Mathematics Context. Erasmus Project

Project Title

Gamifying CLIL within a Mathematics Context.

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Integration of refugees; Teaching and learning of foreign languages

Project Summary

This three-year interdisciplinary project focused on the development of digital game-based resources that aim to help migrant and refugee children across the world learn mathematics and new languages at the same time through play. The digital resources developed as part of this project are underpinned by Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) pedagogical principles to support and enhance the teaching and learning of an area of mathematics through a second/foreign language. This project sees the fusion of two innovative pedagogies, CLIL and game-based learning (GBL), to inform the development of these digital resources – to support students’ knowledge and understanding of fractions as well as developing their confidence and competence in the dominant language of classroom instruction.
The three main intellectual outputs of the Gamifying CLIL project are:
– Intellectual Output 1 (IO1): the development of game-based learning resources designed to deepen learners’ conceptual understanding in mathematics and exposing learners to language in context, aimed at 12-13 year old learners for whom the language of instruction is not their native/mother tongue.
– Intellectual Output 2 (IO2): the development of supplementary materials designed to either be used as a standalone resource or in conjunction with the app.
– Intellectual Output 4 (IO4): the sharing of best practice and knowledge exchange (IO4)
The target audience for GamifyingCLIL is primarily in-service and pre-service teachers who teach 12-13-year-old children across the consortium and beyond with the aim of sharing best practice and knowledge exchange on learning mathematics through languages and languages through mathematics. Project partners were selected based on the complementary skills set and expertise that each partner and their institutions could bring to the project, especially considering their shared interest in helping teachers develop their knowledge, understanding and pedagogical expertise in CLIL and GBL. The members of the consortium also share a commitment to finding solutions to some of the challenges that educators and learners face across the partnership countries and addressing some of the key priorities identified within key EU documentation, including mathematical, linguistic and digital competences, and the inclusion of migrants and refugees.
The consortium consists of five universities and one commercial partner from across Europe and experts in different educational contexts and frameworks, working together to exchange ideas and best practice in relation to CLIL and GBL. Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) was the project coordinator, with the following academic partners: Universidad de Córdoba (Spain), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium), Pädagogische Hochschule Salzburg (Austria) and Università degli Studi di Torino (Italy). We also worked closely with a commercial partner, Cybercoach based in Bolton, UK.
The GamifyingCLIL project complements and builds on a two-year UK-funded collaborative Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), which saw MMU work alongside a small commercial partner to develop a range of innovative game-based learning resources aimed at primary school children. These resources explore some of the big ideas of mathematics through a second language.
The intellectual outputs, project results and activities from the GamifyingCLIL project have been disseminated in a variety of different ways, targeting as many different networks and organisations within and beyond the consortium. Social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter have been used to communicate with researchers, schools and teachers across Europe and beyond. The app FractioQuest, published in app stores (e.g., Google Play, the Apple Store), and the digital portfolio, hosted on Genial.ly, have been shared with schools and teachers across the consortium (Salzburg: two schools on four occasions – spring 2020, BG Seekirchen, 1 class – spring 2020, HTBLuVA SBG, 3 classes – spring 2021, BG Seekirchen, 1 class – fall 2021, HTBLuVA SBG, 1 class;, Spain: 7 teachers from one secondary school during the dissemination stage (152 students); Belgium: 3 secondary schools for pilot phase; 3 schools in spring 2022 + publicity to all schools and teachers in Flanders in February 2022; Italy: 1 teacher, class and school in February 2020, just before the COVID-19 school closures, 12 teachers from 11 schools across Italy in February 2022). However, the evaluation of the project is ongoing and will involve direct participation of more schools and teachers in each country. (See section 6 for further details).
The consortium has utilised existing networks to communicate with schools and teachers, sharing information about where and how to access the app and digital portfolio (https://bit.ly/3LfnFZ7 ), including:
University blogs, press releases and newsletter;
the Italian Association of Research in Mathematics Education;
the Enabling Education Network;
the Flanders government support website, Klascement;
the Spanish Society for Research in Mathematics Education (SEIEM);
the Andalusian Society for Mathematics Education “Thales” (SAEM-Thales).
In addition the project webpage (https://www.mmu.ac.uk/research/research-centres/esri/projects/gamifying-clil, provides an overview of the project along with details of partner profiles and instructions on how to access to the app and the digital portfolio of supplementary materials. Other dissemination activities (described in detail in section 6) include the organisation of the “International Conference on Gamifying Mathematics in CLIL Contexts: Approaches and Good Practices”; participation in several national conferences and international conferences in Iran, Denmark, Portugal, and the Netherlands; training events for pre-service and in-service teachers; an upcoming book entitled Handbook of Research on International Approaches and Practices for Gamifying Mathematics (IGI Global, ISBN: 9781799896609); and book chapters, papers and other works in progress.

Project Website

https://www.mmu.ac.uk/research/research-centres/esri/projects/gamifying-clil

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 297513,64 Eur

Project Coordinator

THE MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY & Country: UK

Project Partners

• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI TORINO
• VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL
• THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER LBG
• Cyber Coach Smart Ltd
• UNIVERSIDAD DE CORDOBA
• Pädagogische Hochschule Salzburg Stefan Zweig