How Can the Use of Digital Games in Mathematics Education Promote Students’ Mathematical Reasoning? A Qualitative Systematic Review

In this article, we conduct a qualitative systematic review of studies examining the use of digital games to promote students’ mathematical reasoning in primary and lower secondary schools. Digital games now have a prominent role in students’ leisure time, as has mathematical reasoning in curricula around the world. This study investigates how the affordances of digital game–based learning environments (DGBLEs) are used to support students’ mathematical reasoning. Through a thematic analysis, we construct five distinct themes that describe how mathematical reasoning is afforded in the DGBLEs in the reviewed studies: developing (winner) strategies, exploring an immersive environment, experimenting, designing learning games and solving tasks. By analysing the themes in relation to the reasoning and proof cycle, we found that DGBLEs primarily supported exploration, conjecturing and, to a lesser extent, justification. We conclude that students’ mathematical reasoning can be achieved through DGBLEs that specifically target exploration, conjecturing and justification, and by carefully structuring students’ interactions with and dialogues about the games played.