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Future Teachers' Perceptions towards Incorporating Board Games to Teach

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International Journal of Instruction October 2024 ● Vol.17, No.4
e-ISSN: 1308-1470 ● www.e-iji.net p-ISSN: 1694-609X
pp. 557-572

Article submission code: Received: 26/02/2024 Accepted: 11/06/2024

20240226131829 Revision: 08/06/2024 OnlineFirst: 01/07/2024

Future Teachers' Perceptions towards Incorporating Board Games to

Teach Mathematical Skills in History Classes

Ana Morais
Corresponding author, Research Centre on Didactics and Technology in the Education
of Trainers, University of Aveiro, Portugal, anacmgoncalves@ua.pt
Hélder Sousa
Department of Mathematics, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Portugal,
hfps@utad.pt
Ana Paula Aires
Department of Mathematics, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Portugal,
aaires@utad.pt
José Cravino
Department of Physics, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Portugal,
jcravino@utad.pt
J. Bernardino Lopes
Department of Physics, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Portugal,
blopes@utad.pt

Literature has emphasized the value of multidisciplinary learning strategies and

the necessity of educating students to solve complex problems. It also pointed out
the importance of teacher’s beliefs in their practices. The purpose of this study is
to understand how future teachers recognize the board game Caravelas as a
didactic tool to help elementary school students develop math skills in History and
Geography Portugal (HGP) classes, in a multidisciplinary way. A board game
intervention was employed in the study, and both quantitative and qualitative data
were gathered from sixteen future teachers enrolled in the Didactic of HGP course
during their third year of the Basic Education programme. Two questionnaires
were used along with a focus group discussion. The findings indicate that this
group of future teachers thinks Caravelas can help students achieve their learning
goals in mathematics and HGP, as well as develop their reasoning, problem-
solving, and social skills. Future teachers believe Caravelas can be used as a
didactic tool to integrate mathematics into HGP subjects and support
multidisciplinary learning.
Keywords: mathematics education, history education, geography education, modern
board games, board game caravelas

Citation: Morais, A., Sousa, H., Aires, A. P., Cravino, J., & Lopes, J. B. (2024). Future teachers'
perceptions towards incorporating board games to teach mathematical skills in History classes.
International Journal of Instruction, 17(4), 557-572.
558 Future Teachers' Perceptions towards Incorporating Board …

INTRODUCTION
The homologation by Dispatch nº 6944-A/2018, of July 19, of the Essential Learning of
Basic Education (Canavarro et al., 2021), brought new considerations to the overview
of curricular guidelines in Portugal. The different documents that make up this
reference document were designed in conjunction with the ‘Student profile upon
leaving mandatory schooling’ (SP) (Martins et al., 2017), and, thus, the backbone of the
curricular contents of the different subjects is now common. This fact brings with it the
opportunity to make the emergence of multidisciplinary activities even more relevant. It
should be noted that Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics subjects
(STEM) are one of the main priorities for Education in the 21st century. When we talk
about STEM Education, we are fundamentally focused on preparing students for their
digital future (Stehle & Peters-Burton, 2019). The integration of mathematics education
with history and geography subjects can promote multidisciplinary learning and
enhance students' reasoning, problem-solving, and social skills (Assapun &
Thummaphan, 2023; Yuecheng, 2023). However, the union of these purposes when we
seek to create tasks that are, at the same time, engaging and motivational for students, is
not always easy to achieve (Mršnik et al., 2023). Board games seem to be able to
emerge as a response to this problem (Bayeck, 2020), as they have the potential to
combine educational content with interactive and enjoyable game experiences (Nakao,
2019). In recent years, there has been a resurgence in the popularity and variety of
modern board games (Balladares et al., 2023). These board games offer numerous
benefits as a didactic tool in education (Noda et al., 2019). Studies have been showing
that teachers believe that board games can enhance students' ability to communicate
mathematically (Maffia & Silva, 2021) as they are required to articulate their approach,
negotiate moves, and engage in discussions with their peers during the game (Bayeck,
2020). Board games also offer students an opportunity to apply their mathematical
knowledge and skills in a practical manner (Balladares et al., 2023). By using board
games that align with the curriculum, teachers can create a learning environment that is
fun and engaging, leading to increased motivation and interest in mathematics (Noda et
al., 2019).
Therefore, in this paper, we will focus on the articulation between the History and
Geography of Portugal (HGP) subject and the Mathematics subject, taught in the 2nd
Cycle of Basic Education (CBE; it corresponds to grades 5 and 6, students of 9 to 11
years old), through the board game Caravelas (Orey, 2013). Three fundamental pillars
are related in this study: (1) Mathematics and HGP curricular guidelines have common
foundations; (2) research indicates that there are multiple benefits to game-based
learning for students' skill development; (3) part of the content taught in HGP is
represented in the theme of the Caravelas game. In this sense and given that the
development of mathematics skills is the subject of our interest, we want to understand
how future teachers perceive the Caravelas game's potential to foster multidisciplinary
mathematical skill development within the context of HGP. Consequently, this study
aims to understand how Caravelas can help teachers of the 2nd CBE to apply
mathematics learning contents in HGP classes, without compromising its learning
objectives.

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Morais, Sousa, Aires, Cravino & Lopes 559

Theoretical Background
Board Games
According to Sousa & Bernardo (2019), there are three categories of board games:
Classical or Traditional, Mass-market and Hobby Games. For Classical or Traditional it
is understood that neither credit to the author nor any commercial rights are attributed;
Mass-market games are defined as games that belong to companies and distributors of
mass-produced games, with no special focus on the designers or the inventiveness of
their ideas; Hobby Games are those that are owned by companies or private individuals,
where it is highlighted the designer's originality while recognizing their work (Sousa &
Bernardo, 2019).
Hobby Games are further subdivided into five subcategories (idem), namely: (1)
Wargames, deep military simulations, usually, about historical battles; (2) Role-play
games, adventures accompanied by a narrative, where players are characters within the
story and make decisions along the way. Usually, cooperative games; (3) Collectible
cards, games where players can buy or trade cards, to construct their decks; (4)
Ameritrash, games that combine elements from role-play games and wargames. They
prioritize themes over mechanics; (5) Eurogames have multiple ways to victory and a
determinate ending, avoid randomness, with relatively simple rule systems, mechanics
are prioritized over themes.
All subcategories of Hobby games, but specially to last one, Nicholson (2008) would
call ‘Modern Board Games’. For him a board game is modern when it isn’t focused on
the players elimination, instead it is when ends at some predetermined point and each
player’s performance is measured. This fact allows that the experience of playing is
stimulating for all players though all the game play. The waiting time for a player turn
is smoothed, since that often, the actions of other players give something to do. It can
be, for example, goods exchanges or negotiations. They have interesting decisions, in
the sense that when a player needs to take a decision, he or she must analyze many
options, given that there are many ways to win or to collect points. In fact, this “makes
for a very replayable game as players can explore different paths each play” (Nicholson,
2008, p. 2).
This kind of board games are having a growth in the market like never before.
Thousands of new board games are published every year, in an exponential growth of
creativity with new mechanics and themes (Sousa & Bernardo, 2019).
Board games as an educational tool
Although concepts like gamification and game-based learning have become more and
more popular in the last years and even though thousands of new board games have
been released every year, the role of modern board games in education and education
research is still understudied (Maffia & Silva, 2022). Some studies have been trying to
address how modern board games stimulate different skills, such as critical thinking,
creativity, computational thinking, and how they stimulate motivation to learn.
Bartolucci et al. (2019) conducted an experiment with two groups, an adult group, and a
group of children. The adult group consisted of experienced players and non-players,

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560 Future Teachers' Perceptions towards Incorporating Board …

while the children's group had an experimental group and a control group. The
experimental group received training with modern board games for 26 hours, over two
weeks, while the control group had traditional teaching classes. To test the hypothesis,
Remote Association Test, the Alternative Uses task, the graphic test of creativity by
Paul Torrance, the problem-solving inventory, and the Raven Matrices were used. The
main conclusions of this study are that modern board games can have a positive effect
on cognitive functions, particularly on the creative side. The results showed that
experienced adult players scored higher than non-players in cognitive tests, and children
who received game training also scored significantly higher than the control group. The
study suggests that modern board games have educational potential and can stimulate
cognitive skills.
In another study, to understand the nature and development of computational thinking
in the context of strategic modern board games, Berland & Lee (2011) conducted a
study with the modern board game ‘Pandemic’. It explores the relationship between
aspects of game design and computational thinking, as well as the social aspects of
strategic games. The students were encouraged to talk freely during the game. The
authors concluded that complex computational thinking can be developed
spontaneously by playing Pandemic, and that strategic modern board games can
promote computational thinking and increase participation in computational activities
(Berland & Lee, 2011).
García-Roca et al. (2023) conducted a study with an adapted version of the board game
‘Untold: Adventures Await You’, with first-year high school student. The purpose of
this study was to assess how a board game might be used as instructional resource to
create narrative texts. As main conclusions, the study highlights the potential of board
games as a teaching tool that can improve students' storytelling skills while preserving
an enjoyable and stimulating learning atmosphere.
Assapun, & Thummaphan (2023) carried out a study to explore the application of game-
based learning in the classroom, with the primary focus of the study was to examine
how students' problem-solving skills in lower secondary schools are affected by
learning through board games. According to the study, after taking part in board games
activities, students showed improvements in their problem-solving abilities. This
implies that using board games to teach problem-solving techniques can be beneficial.
In a more mathematics education-related study, Maffia & Silva (2022) discussed the
research and findings related to the use of board games in mathematics education,
specifically focusing on foundational number sense. The conclusions were made based
on the analysis of past contributions to the workgroup about 'Early Years Mathematics',
in the context of the Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics
Education, about board games and the review of literature on the topic. The researchers
identified the potential of board games in developing young children's number sense,
particularly in the areas of pre-verbal, foundational, and applied number sense.
According to the authors, there is evidence that board games can provide a context for
challenging mathematical tasks and can be beneficial for the development of
foundational number sense (Maffia & Silva, 2022). However, further research is needed

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Morais, Sousa, Aires, Cravino & Lopes 561

to understand the features of board games for developing and accessing number sense,
as well as to develop teachers' education in analyzing games and exploiting their
potential.
Teachers’ perceptions about board games as a didactic tool
According to the research literature (Vogt et al., 2018), teachers who have participated
in experimental interventions involving board games are generally enthusiastic about
using them in the classroom. In this sense, enjoyment of board games may lead teachers
to propose more challenging tasks and adopt an explorative approach. Some studies
about the believe systems of teachers on the use of board games on class as showed that
teachers have positive views about using board games in the classroom. Yükseltürk et
al. (2022) concluded in their study that teachers believe that board games, such as
Chess, Taboo, and Jenga, can be utilized as educational tools to enhance various skills
in students. They included socialization, problem-solving, strategic thinking,
psychomotor skills, verbal intelligence, and cognitive abilities as skills that in their view
can be developed by playing board games. Initial training teachers also recognize the
importance of hands-on and face-to-face interaction that board games provide, allowing
students to learn and socialize with their peers (Barekat, 2023). This hands-on and
interactive approach fosters a deeper understanding of the subject matter and promotes
critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills (Barekat, 2023; Sousa et al.,
2023).
In the Math class, Vogt et al. (2018) refers that for teachers the benefits of using board
games in classes include fostering mathematical competencies in a fun and engaging
way, providing opportunities for repeated mathematical activities, promoting peer
learning and support, and allowing for individualized learning based on the needs of
each student. Board games can also offer a structured learning arrangement and
controlled time frame. Additionally, board games can help to challenge and empower
all students, and can be used to target a wide range of mathematical competencies
(Maffia & Silva, 2022; Vogt et al., 2018). There are also some challenges when using
board games in classes. Teachers mentioned the large classes sizes and problems with
classroom management as a challenge on the use of board games in classes (Yükseltürk
et al., 2022). It is also of reference that the challenges include the need of time for set up
and engage with the play, the requirement for appropriate game mechanics and
presentation of the topic content in study, and the need for games to be suitable for
individual learning needs (Vogt et al., 2018).
Curriculum guidelines
The Essential Learning of Basic Education for HGP and Mathematics, as mentioned
before, have a common basis, the SP (Martins et al., 2017). This document following
the guidelines from The Future of Education and Skills of OECD Education 2030
(OECD, 2016) that stablish what children must learn during the next decade. From this
framework eleven areas of competence emerged in SP, encoded from A to J, of which
we will focus on six, namely, B – information and communication, C – reasoning and
problem solving, D – critical thinking and creative thinking, E – interpersonal
relationship, F – personal development and autonomy, and I – scientific, technical, and

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562 Future Teachers' Perceptions towards Incorporating Board …

technological knowledge. Therefore, nowadays, there are three essential principles for
Basic Mathematics Education in Portugal (Canavarro et al., 2021): (1) Mathematics is
for everyone. All students must have the opportunity to experience mathematically rich
and challenging learning; (2) Mathematics is unique, but not the only one. In our global
world, Mathematics contributes, along with other areas of knowledge, to the integral
formation of students; (3) Mathematics for 21 st century, where Mathematics Education
must be focused on being relevant to current times, with challenges clearly different
from those made in the past. The learning contents of Mathematics curricula for the 2 nd
CBE is summarized in table 1.
Table 1
Learning contents of Mathematics in the 2nd CBE (Canavarro et al., 2021)
Math knowledge Transversal math skills General skills and attitudes
Skills: Critical thinking;
Problem solving
Algebra Creativity; Collaboration and
Mathematical reasoning
Numbers self-regulation
Mathematical communication
Data and Probabilities Attitudes: Self-confidence;
Mathematical representations
Geometry and Perseverance; Initiative and
Mathematical connections
Measurement autonomy; Valuing the role of
Computational thinking
mathematical knowledge.

Today, transversal mathematic skills and general transversal skills and attitudes are as
learning contents as mathematical knowledge in the subject of Mathematics for 2 nd CBE
students, in Portugal. This fact allows that mathematics learning contents can be worked
on in other subjects, like HGP, for example. In fact, in this last, the curricula guidelines
tell us that multidisciplinary should be promoted. Its main objective is for students to
understand the fundamental role that geography and history play in understanding the
nation's physical and human qualities as well as its historical-cultural evolution,
encouraging cooperation, inclusion, respect for variety, an appreciation of human rights,
and an understanding of the planet's finite resources (DGE, 2018).
Analyzing HGP Essential Learnings document for 5th grade, we became aware that the
study of Portugal in the 15th and 16th centuries is part of the contents of knowledge in
this area. In this sense, students should be able to identify the main stages of the Age of
Discovery; locate territories of the 16 th century Portuguese empire, value cultural
diversity and the right to be different and, also, they must be able to identify concepts
like marine expansion, route, colonization, slavery, ethnicity, and migration (idem). In
this topic, the C, D, E, F, and I competences from SP must be worked and developed, as
well as the autonomy and accountability of students should be promoted.
The board game Caravelas
Caravelas is a commercial modern board game published in 2013 by Mebo Games. It is
a strategic game about the Portuguese Age of Discoveries, where the players take on the
role of Portuguese navigators who travel worldwide, discovering new places and/or
collecting spices. To play, players don’t need to know anything about Portuguese
History, quite the contrary, players learn about it while playing. It’s recommended for
children aged eight years and over.

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Morais, Sousa, Aires, Cravino & Lopes 563

In this game, each player has a fleet of four caravels, represented in small individual
boards. They depart from Lisbon and must follow the routes, being subject to the
different sea currents. The number of movements in each round is dictated by the wind,
represented in the wind cards. In these cards, there are numbers between one and three.
Each player has four wind cards, they play the number of wind cards they wish, adding
their numbers to establish the number of movements their fleet will dislocate. The goal
of the game is to score points, which are obtained by delivering spices in Lisbon or by
discovering locations.
Since there is no elimination of players during the game and decision-making is based
on strategy, we can consider Caravelas a modern board game, and because it has
multiple ways to acquire victory points, it avoids randomness, it has a pre-established
end and its rules system is simple, according to the categorization of Sousa & Bernardo
(2019), Caravelas is classified as a Eurogame.
METHOD
The main objective of this study is to understand how future teachers perceive the
Caravelas game's potential to foster multidisciplinary mathematical skill development
within the context of HGP. To do so, the investigation took place in three moments: an
intervention with the board game Caravelas, the answer to a questionnaire to evaluate
the perceptions of students (future teachers) on Caravelas as a didactic tool, and the
realization of two focus groups. In one of the focus groups (abbreviated F1), an
interview was conducted, and in the other (F2), a questionnaire about their game
experience was applied, the ‘Game Experience Questionnaire’ (GEQ) (Ijsselsteijn et al.,
2013).
Two sessions with the game Caravelas, of one hour and a half each, took place with all
the students in the class of Didactics of HGP. The intervention with Caravelas was
conducted by the second and third others After the exploration time of the game,
students were asked to answer the questionnaire on ‘Caravelas as a didactic tool’.
Afterwards, they were randomly assigned to one of the two groups (F1 or F2). Six
students participated in F1, and nine students answered the GEQ. None of the students
participated simultaneously in F1 and F2.
The ethical requirements of the European Federation of Associations of Psychologists
(EFPA) were followed. The research team ensured that all respondents knew and
accepted the principles of informed consent, voluntary participation, and confidentiality
of their responses.
For the analyses of the quantitative data, the software SPSS (version 25) was used. For
the analyses of qualitative data, the software MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2022 was used.
Participants
Sixteen students of the third year of the Basic Education undergraduate degree program
from a university in the North of Portugal took part in this study, one male and fifteen
female. Their ages range from 20 to 23, with an average of 21,8 years old. As third-year
students, these students studied the curriculum guidelines of Mathematics and HGP for

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564 Future Teachers' Perceptions towards Incorporating Board …

the 2nd Cycle of Basic Education in other courses. After finishing the degree in Basic
Education, these students may proceed to a master’s degree that will allow them to be
Kindergarten Educators or Primary School Teachers or 2 nd Cycle Teachers (5th and 6th
grades) of Mathematics and Natural Science or of Portuguese, History and Geography
of Portugal.
Data Collection Instruments
Questionnaire on Caravelas as a didactic tool
To collect the data, we constructed a questionnaire based on adaptations from the
literature with sixteen statements on a Likert scale, ranging from 1 to 5 (1: completely
disagree; 2: disagree; 3: indifferent; 4: agree; 5: completely agree), and three open
questions, to evaluate Caravelas as a didactic tool to help developing mathematics skills
in HGP classes. The questions are listed in Table 3, together with the results obtained.
For the open questions, they were asked what they think the positive aspects of using
Caravelas are, what are the negative ones and from what ages they think the games can
be used.
The information that comes from this questionnaire is presented according to the
terminology S(student)n(number)Q1.
Interview Guide
As for the focus groups, a guide was developed for F1 with seven questions (see Table
2), based on the questionnaire of ‘Caravelas as a didactic tool’, to allow a deeper
understanding about students’ opinions.
The terminology used to present the information from F1 is S(student)n(number)F1.
Table 2
Focus group F1 questions’ guide
1. What do you think about Caravelas?
2. What mathematical learning content do you identify in Caravelas?
3. Can Caravelas be considered a problem situation that help develop problem solving skills?
4. Does Caravelas help students achieve learning goals in Mathematics? Which?
5. Does Caravelas help students develop logical-deductive thinking?
6. Does Caravelas help students develop dispositions to learn scientific content?
7. Does Caravelas help students to develop autonomy and initiative?
The Game Experience Questionnaire
For F2, the ‘The Game Experience Questionnaire’ (GEQ) (Ijsselsteijn et al., 2013) was
applied, so we could better understand the personal experience on Caravelas by the
students. Each GEQ item is answered on a Likert scale with a level of agreement from 1
to 5 (1: completely disagree; 2: disagree; 3: indifferent; 4: agree; 5: completely agree).
The GEQ is divided into three sections: (1) Core module; (2) Social presence module;
and (3) Post-game module. The first two modules aim to assess the players’ thoughts
and feelings during the game. The third assesses players’ feelings after they played the
game. The core module assigns scores to seven dimensions: immersion, flow,
competence, emotion, tension, and challenge. There are five questions for each element.
The social presence module seeks to investigate the psychological and behavioral

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Morais, Sousa, Aires, Cravino & Lopes 565

involvement of players with others, and it is divided into three subcategories: Empathy,
Negative Feelings and Behavioral Involvement. The post-game module assesses how
players felt after playing the game. This module is particularly important to understand
when players decide to play voluntarily.
The terminology used to present the information from F2 is S(student)n(number)F2.
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
Results from the ‘Caravelas as a Didactic Tool’ Questionnaire
A test was conducted on every aspect of the questionnaire with the aim of determining
whether the responses were neutral or, more accurately, whether there was a feeling of
agreement or disagreement with the questions. After a significant Shapiro-Wilk
normality test, the non-parametric Wilcoxon test for one sample was applied with
significance level of 5%. The results are presented in Table 3.
Table 3
Results on ‘Caravelas as a didactic tool’ questionnaire
Test value=3
Statistics
Mean Sd p-value
test
1. Caravelas helps students achieve learning goals in the
4.56 0.50 136.00 0.001*
subject of History and Geography of Portugal.a
2. Caravelas helps students develop social skills.d 4.63 0.48 136.00 0.001*
3. Caravelas helps students to develop the ability to solve
4.31 0.58 120.00 0.001*
problems.d
4. Caravelas helps students achieve learning goals in
4.38 0.60 120.00 0.001*
Mathematics.b
5. Caravelas helps students to develop communication.d 4.44 0.50 136.00 0.001*
6. Caravelas helps students develop logical and deductive
4.69 0.46 13600 0.001*
thinking.
7. Caravelas helps students to develop their creativity. 4.13 0.78 78.00 0.002
8. There is not enough time during the school year to apply
2.38 1.36 33.00 0.114
Caravelas in classes.a
9. Caravelas helps students to develop mathematical
4.44 0.50 136.00 0.001*
reasoning.
10. Caravelas helps students develop curiosity to learn
3.88 0.93 62.50 0.007
scientific content.b
11. Caravelas helps students develop self-confidence. 3.94 0.90 74.00 0.005
12. Caravelas helps students develop collaboration and
4.38 0.70 105.00 0.001*
self-regulation.
13. It is difficult to manage a class using Caravelas.c 2.13 0.99 11.00 0.013
14. Caravelas helps students develop autonomy and
4.50 0.50 136.00 0.001*
initiative.
15. Caravelas allows to work with students in a
4.31 0.58 120.00 0.001*
multidisciplinary way.
16. Caravelas is only useful for studying specific contents.a 2.19 1.01 19.50 0.016
n=16; *p<0,001; Wilcoxon test for a sample after a significant Shapiro-Wilk normality test;
aAdapted from Koh et al. (2012); bAdapted from Can & Cagiltay (2006); cAdapted from Watson & Yang

(2016); dAdapted from Watson & Yang (2016)

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566 Future Teachers' Perceptions towards Incorporating Board …

By observation of the results we can say that these future teachers strongly agree on
four questioned aspects: (1) that Caravelas help students to fulfil the HGP learning
goals (mean=4.56; p<0.001); (2) it helps students to develop social skills (mean=4.63;
p<0.001); (3) it helps students to develop logical and deductive thinking (mean=4.69;
p<0.001); and (4) it helps students to develop autonomy and initiative (mean=4,50;
p<0.001). They agree on nine questioned aspects: (1) Caravelas help students to
develop problem solving skills (mean=4.31; p<0.001); (2) it helps students to fulfil the
Mathematics learning goals (mean=4.38; p<0.001); (3) it help students to develop
communication (mean=4.44; p<0.001); (4) it helps students to develop creativity
(mean=4.13; p=0.002); (5) it helps students to develop mathematical reasoning
(mean=4.44; p<0.001); (6) it helps to create dispositions for learning scientific subjects
(mean=3.88; p=0.007); (7) it help students to have more self-confidence (mean=3.94;
p=0.005); (8) it helps students to develop collaboration and self-regulation skills
(mean=4.38; p<0.001); and (9) it allows teachers to work in multidisciplinary way with
their students (mean=4.31; p<0.001). These future teachers do not agree that is hard to
manage a class with Caravelas (mean=2.13; p=0.013) and they do not think that
Caravelas can only be useful for a specific topic (mean=2.19; p=0.016). Also, they can
neither agree nor disagree about the insufficient time in the schooler year to use
Caravelas on class (mean=2.38; p=0.114).
In the open questions, students recommend Caravelas to a minimal average age of 8,4
(median=8) when asked about the suggested age of players. As for the positive aspects
in the use of the board game Caravelas in educational context, the students mentioned
mathematical reasoning, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, self-confidence,
autonomy, and initiative as learning contents within the play of Caravelas. They also
noted the ludic aspect of the game and the motivational factor. “Caravelas is a game
that helps both children and older people to develop critical thinking, communication,
and creativity.” (S1Q1). “It helps to have critical thinking, develop imagination,
reasoning, and autonomy.” (S2Q1). “Helps with mathematical reasoning, history
learning, and groups collaboration.” (S10Q1). “Improves motivation, concentration, and
dynamics among colleagues.” (S16Q1). “This game is good for children to learn the
various places in the world in a playful way.” (S8Q1).
Only two students pointed that the use of the board game Caravelas in educational
context can take too much time of the class and the management of class can be
difficult: “Maybe for some teachers it can be too long a game.” (S6Q1). “It is difficult
to control students when they practice games.” (S15Q1).
Results from focus group interviews
Numbers was the most widely recognized mathematical knowledge. This was
mentioned in the definition of strategies, the management of wind cards, and the score
of points. Data and Probabilities were also pointed out by two students and Geometry
and Measurement by one: “Counting, sequence and numbers.” (S5F1) All students
identified mathematical reasoning and problem-solving as transversal mathematical
skills. Two of them identified computational thinking and one recognized mathematical
communication. The mathematical learning contents identified are listed in Table 4.

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Morais, Sousa, Aires, Cravino & Lopes 567

Table 4
Mathematics learning contents identified by the students in Caravelas
S1F1 S2F1 S3F1 S4F1 S5F1 S6F1
Mathematical knowledge
Geometry and Measurement x
Data and Probabilities x x
Numbers x x x x x x
Algebra
Transversal math skills
Computational thinking x x
Mathematical connections
Mathematical representations
Mathematical communication x
Mathematical reasoning x x x x x x
Problem solving x x x x x x
General transversal skills
Self-regulation x
Collaboration x
Creativity
Critical thinking x
Attitudes
Valuing the role of mathematical knowledge x x x x x
Initiative and autonomy x x x x x x
Perseverance x
Self-confidence x
Only student S4F1 mentioned three of the general transversal skills, namely, self-
regulation, collaboration, and critical thinking.
“Computational thinking and reasoning. It develops the ability to solve problems.”
(S3F1). “Yes. Because it has several route options, it presents several countries, and it
has several strategies to try to win. These different strategies make it easier to develop
skills and create problem situations.” (S5F1). “Caravelas can be considered a problem
situation since the players have to score as many points as possible through Discoveries
or bringing spices and raw materials to Lisbon and, for that, it is necessary to use the
wind cards to reach the desired location. These cards can be considered a problem
situation since your moves depend on them. This game helps to develop problem-
solving skills because first the game offers different strategies. Even if the players have
difficulties, they can always manage to reach the goal of the game, but each one at their
own rhythm. As throughout the game we are always trying to see strategies to collect
the points and take the spices and raw materials to Lisbon, it means that we are also
practicing and developing the ability to solve problems.” (S4F1).
In the process of playing Caravelas, all students are thought to develop autonomy and
initiative. Most of them described the valorization of the scientific knowledge within
the game and student S4F1 pointed to perseverance and self-confidence. “It helps, for
example, in the areas of history and geography, because it makes them aware of
countries and their raw materials and they may gain interest and disposition to learn
these contents.” (S1F1). “Caravelas helps students to develop autonomy as it is played

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568 Future Teachers' Perceptions towards Incorporating Board …

individually. It also helps to develop initiative since when playing they are proactive,
evaluating the game, trying out their ideas and strategies.” (S4F1)
When questioned about what they think about Caravelas, different answers came out.
“First, I think Caravelas is a fun game, easy to play and that anyone who plays it will
also enjoy playing it. In addition to being an attractive game due to its colors and
images, we find several advantages in it. We managed to explore different areas of
knowledge, develop skills and abilities, and develop multiple intelligences.” (S4F1).
“It's an interesting game., It is capable of handling knowledge from different
disciplines, which is a plus.” (S1F1).
Results of the Game Experience Questionnaire
In all dimensions of the questionnaire, a test was carried out to verify whether the
answers were in the sense of indifference or whether there was, effectively, a feeling of
agreement or disagreement with the questions. For non-significant variables in the
Shapiro-Wilk normality test, a t-student test was performed. For the other variables, the
Wilcoxon non-parametric test was performed for one sample. In cases where there were
too many ties, the Sign test was used instead of the Wilcoxon non-parametric test. The
values obtained are explained in tables 5, 6 and 7, respectively, for the Core module, the
Social Presence module, and the Post-game module.
Table 5
Test results for mean/median for Core Module
Test value=3
Core Module Mean Sd test statistics p-value
Competence 4.31 0.39 10.12a 0.001*
Sensory and imaginative immersion 4.56 0.49 9.47a 0.001*
Flow 3.73 1.04 2.12a 0.067
Tension/Annoyance 1.11 0.33 0c 0.004
Challenge 2.76 0.38 -1.908a 0.093
Negative affect 1.58 0.74 0c d 0.008
Positive affect 4.64 0.55 9c 0.004
n=9; *p-value less than 0,001; a t-student test after a non-significant Shapiro-Wilk normality test; c Sign
test for a sample where Wilcoxon test is not appliable; d The Sign test was calculated with a tie

As verified by a significant classification higher than “indifferent”, the participants in

the experience felt competent (mean=4.31; p<0.001), immersed in the game imagery
(mean=4.56; p<0.001), and had positive affective emotions (mean=4.64; p=0.004). In
approval of these facts, they did not feel tension or annoyance (mean=1.11; p=0.004)
and didn’t feel negative affective emotions (mean=1.58: p=0.008). On another hand,
students did not feel challenged according to the non-significant classification in this
element (mean=2.76; p=0.93), and fluency in the game is indifferent for the students
(mean=3.73; p=0.067). Regarding the Social presence module, according to table 8, the
element of empathy was significant (mean=4.65; p=0.007) and, therefore, it is higher
than ‘indifferent’. For Negative Feelings, the indifference is accepted (mean=3.02;
p=0.007) and the behavioral involvement is bellowing the indifference (mean=2.82;
p=0.04).

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Morais, Sousa, Aires, Cravino & Lopes 569

Table 6
Test results for mean/median for Social Presence Module
Test value=3
Social Presence Module Mean Sd test statistics p-value
Psychological Involvement: Empathy 4.65 0.44 45.00b 0.007
Psychological Involvement: Negative Feelings 3.02 0.76 0.00b 0.007
Behavioral Involvement 2.82 0.48 -1.15a 0.004
n=9; at-student test after a non-significant Shapiro-Wilk normality test; bWilcoxon test for a sample after a
significant Shapiro-Wilk normality test

The Post-game Module presents significant values in all dimensions (see Table 7).
Table 7
Test results for mean/median for Post-game Module
Test value=3
Post-game Module Mean Sd test statistics p-value
Positive Experience 3.96 0.72 4,009a 0.004
Negative Experience 1.33 0.46 0c 0.004
Tiredness 1.28 0.44 0c 0.004
Returning to Reality 2.15 0.69 1c 0.039
n=9; a t-student test after a non-significant Shapiro-Wilk normality test; c
Sign test for a sample where
Wilcoxon test is not appliable

Students considered the experience positive (mean=3.96; p=0.004) and the negative
experience result is in line with it (mean=1.33; p=0.004). They did not feel tired
(mean=1.28; p=0.004) and did not consider it difficult to return to reality (mean=2.12;
p=0.039).
DISCUSSION
Knowing teachers' perspectives is fundamental. Their attitudes and beliefs have a big
impact on how they teach and how their students learn (Yükseltürk et al., 2022).
Understanding teachers' perceptions can help us gain important insights into how well
they comprehend educational subjects, how they plan their classes, and how they
approach teaching as a whole (Ponte, 2020). This information can assist programs for
professional development, help define educational policies and practices, and ultimately
raise the standard of education. The students (future teachers) who took part in this
study experienced pleasant affective responses, a sense of competence, and immersion
in the game's imaginary while playing Caravelas. Negative affective emotions, such as
stress or displeasure, were not reported. Participants exhibited notable empathy and
found the experience to be beneficial. Therefore, we try to understand what the beliefs
about the use of the board game Caravelas as a didactic tool are, to develop math skills
of 2nd CBE students in HGP classes.
By analyzing the qualitative and quantitative data, which point in the same direction, we
can conclude that this group of future teachers identified several positive aspects of
using the Caravelas board game as a teaching tool. They agree that Caravelas is a
useful tool for meeting learning objectives, both in HGP and in Mathematics.
Furthermore, they consider it a useful didactic tool for the development of ‘Student
profile upon leaving mandatory schooling’ general skills and attitudes.

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570 Future Teachers' Perceptions towards Incorporating Board …

More specifically, these future teachers consider that Caravelas can help to develop
social skills, develop logical and deductive thinking, and develop autonomy and
initiative, problem-solving skills, communication, creativity, reasoning, self-confidence,
collaboration, self-regulation skills, and it allows teachers to work in a multidisciplinary
way with their students. Similar perceptions were found in Maffia & Silva (2021).
Caravelas was considered a problem situation that helps students develop several math
learning contents. The mathematical knowledge identified by students in Caravelas
includes numbers, geometry and measurement, and data and probabilities. In addition,
Caravelas was considered fun, attractive, and capable of dealing with knowledge from
different subjects.
CONCLUSIONS
The study's findings suggest that future teachers see the board game Caravelas as a
useful tool for achieving the math learning objectives in HGP classes. They all agree
that Caravelas aids in the development of a variety of skills in students, including
teamwork, problem-solving, and logical-deductive thinking. The game is also thought
to be a tool for multidisciplinary work and social skills development. The time
management and class management components of employing Caravelas, however,
have drawn some consideration. For these students, playing Caravelas was neither tense
nor annoying; instead, participants felt competent, absorbed, and filled with positive
emotions. All things considered, the participants report favorable experiences, low
levels of fatigue, and ease of readjusting to reality. Overall, the study indicates that
these future teachers hold positive views of Caravelas as an effective educational tool
for teaching numerical operations with reasoning, while also incorporating content on
World Geography and Portuguese History.
Future work may investigate a wider range of participants and collect their viewpoints
on the roles they expect to play in a board game class while students are playing. Also
evaluating the game within the context of HGP classes at school, watching how the
teacher behaves, student reactions, and what knowledge they get from the game.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank Emília Simões for collaborate in this study. The first author thanks
the research scholarship with Ref. BI/UI57, within the scope of the CIDTFF R&D Unit.
The first and last four authors thanks the financial support given by National Funds
through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the project
UIDB/00194/2020.
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