Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2018

Keywords

area, volume, virtual world, Minecraft, technology integration, preservice teachers

Abstract

A virtual world was created using the popular sandbox game Minecraft to support the development of preservice teachers’ knowledge for teaching mathematics. Preservice teachers explored the virtual world for a geometry activity involving area and volume problems. They then discussed how this integration of technology could support students’ effective learning of mathematics in a meaningful way. The findings of the study demonstrated that to a certain extent the Minecraft activity supported the transfer of knowledge from preservice teachers’ mathematics content knowledge to their mathematics pedagogical and instructional practice knowledge. Preservice teachers appreciated the usefulness and effectiveness of the Minecraft activity in enhancing the teaching and learning of mathematics by visualizing mathematical concepts in the virtual world. This integration of technology also gave them an opportunity for professional growth. Although this study focuses on preservice teachers’ perspectives on the Minecraft activity, the technology integration using Minecraft will also be beneficial for students because it engages them in active and discovery learning.

Comments

Originally published in:

Kim, Y. R., & Park, M. S. (2018). Creating a Virtual World for Mathematics. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 6(12), 172-183.

Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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