Revista Universitaria del
CARIBE
Volumen 32, No. 2, Julio-Diciembre, 2024
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https://doi.org/10.5377/ruc.v32i2.22298
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Gallardo Herrerías, C. (). Adapted Mathematical Games: A Comparative Study of Spain and the United States. Revista Universitaria del
Caribe, 32(),-. https://doi.org/./ruc.vi.
Adapted Mathematical Games: A Comparative Study of
Spain and the United States
Juegos matemáticos adaptados: Un estudio comparativo de España y Estados Unidos
Celia Gallardo Herrerías
1
ABSTRACT
is comparative analysis explores the use of adapted mathematical games in Spanish and US inclusive
classrooms for students with learning disabilities, neurodiversity, and other special needs. e analysis,
based on information from 24 schools (12 per country), uses surveys, interviews, classroom observations,
and policy analysis. Findings reveal that American teachers routinely adapt games according to Universal
Design for Learning (UDL) principles, individual education plans (IEPs), and dierentiated instruction.
e adaptations are more formalized, supported by training, and embedded in curriculum objectives.
Spanish teachers, although armative about game playing, use games less frequently and undertake more
improvisation since they have less access to formal training and more formalized curricula. Students in
both environments enjoy games, but only American students show sustained gains in school performance
from modied gameplay. Spanish classrooms prefer to employ games as an incentive rather than as a
pedagogy, with fewer accommodations for dierences in needs. Cultural attitudes toward dierentiation
and disability also shape implementation: American schools prefer individualism and autonomy, whereas
Spanish schools lean toward group cohesion and standardization. e study discovers that modied games
hold immense promise for inclusion if they are designed to their specications and adequately supported. It
recommends additional professional development, curriculum exibility, and culturally responsive practice
in modication. Highlighting strengths and limitations at the national level, provides insight into future
classroom practice, training, and policy for inclusive mathematics education.
Keywords: Adaptation strategies, Game-based learning, inclusive education, mathematical games,
neurodiversity
1
Doctora en Educación. Profesora de la Universidad de Almería, España. Correo electrónico: cgh188@inlumine.ual.es. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5515-
1269
Doctor of Education. Professor at the University of Almería, Spain.
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RESUMEN
Este análisis comparativo explora el uso de juegos matemáticos adaptados en aulas inclusivas españolas y
estadounidenses para estudiantes con discapacidades de aprendizaje, neurodiversidad y otras necesidades
especiales. El análisis, basado en información de 24 escuelas (12 por país), utiliza encuestas, entrevistas,
observaciones de aula y análisis de políticas. Los hallazgos revelan que el profesorado estadounidense adapta
juegos rutinariamente según los principios del Diseño Universal para el Aprendizaje (DUA), los planes de
educación individualizados (PEI) y la instrucción diferenciada. Las adaptaciones están más formalizadas,
respaldadas por formación e integradas en los objetivos curriculares. El profesorado español, aunque se
muestra positivo respecto a los juegos, los utiliza con menos frecuencia y recurre a la improvisación, ya que
tiene menos acceso a formación formal y currículos más formalizados. Los estudiantes de ambos entornos
disfrutan de los juegos, pero solo los estadounidenses muestran mejoras sostenidas en el rendimiento
escolar gracias a los juegos modicados. Las aulas españolas preeren emplear los juegos como incentivo
en lugar de como pedagogía, con menos adaptaciones a las diferencias de necesidades. Las actitudes
culturales hacia la diferenciación y la discapacidad también inuyen en la implementación: las escuelas
estadounidenses preeren el individualismo y la autonomía, mientras que las españolas se inclinan por la
cohesión grupal y la estandarización. El estudio revela que los juegos modicados tienen un gran potencial
para la inclusión si se diseñan según sus especicaciones y cuentan con el apoyo adecuado. Recomienda
mayor desarrollo profesional, exibilidad curricular y prácticas de modicación culturalmente receptivas.
Al destacar las fortalezas y limitaciones a nivel nacional, proporciona perspectivas para futuras prácticas
en el aula, capacitación y políticas para la educación matemática inclusiva.
Palabras Clave: Estrategias de adaptación, aprendizaje basado en juegos, educación inclusiva, juegos
matemáticos, neurodiversidad
I. INTRODUCCIÓN
In the mathematics teaching world of the 21st century, mathematics education is not merely being
required to be standards-based and rigorous but also inclusive, challenging, and accessible to students
with dierent needs. Against a background of heightened international concern with dierentiated
and student-centered approaches, one classroom pedagogy that has risen to prominence is the use of
mathematical games in the teaching arsenal. Well-designed and implemented mathematical games aord
active opportunities for the strengthening of conceptual understanding, cooperation, strategic thinking,
and intrinsic motivation. While their potential has been acknowledged in theory and in teacher training
courses for a very long time, a rigorous examination of adapted mathematical games—those modied or
specially designed to meet students with learning dierences or neurodiversity—is weak, especially in
cross-national contexts (Brinkhuis et al., 2020; Samavati et al., 2024).
Evidently, educational inclusion faces persistent challenges in countries, particularly in math. Children
diagnosed with learning disabilities, attention decits, autism spectrum disorder, or socio-linguistic
disadvantage, as a common rule, experience barriers of the system in access and meaningful engagement
with typical math curricula. System barriers are accompanied by inexible instructional design and the
absence of dierentiation, especially in traditional classes of mathematics, abstract thought and symbolic
manipulation become the core focus. Against this backdrop, adapted math games seem to be promising
tools that are able to ease such problems through visual, touch-based, group, and kinesthetic features that
are more in line with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles (Andrews & Diego-Mantecón, 2015;
Gris et al., 2017).
e present study is a response to the critical gap in research and practice: the lack of empirical comparative
analysis of the application, adaptation, and pedagogical eectiveness of math games in inclusive learning
settings. While there is a signicant body of literature on game-based learning and its possibilities for
traditionally developing student populations, fewer have considered intentionally modifying such games for
marginalized or neurodiverse students. Even less has discussed how cultural, institutional, and pedagogical
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factors intersect with design and implementation of adapted games in multicultural national contexts.
Spain and America—two countries with contrasting education systems, inclusion policies, teacher training
programs, and mathematical and disability cultural attitudes—richly oer such a comparative investigation
(Ivan et al., 2017).
Current research into game-based learning in math centers on general cognitive benets: increased
participation, concept exposure, colearning, and improved problem-solving capacity. While these ndings
are valuable, they typically assume access and sharedness that exclude students with dierent cognitive,
social, or behavioral needs. Studies that do look at adaptation are typically based on either treatment
settings or computer games, not standard classroom use. Furthermore, there is mostly single-nation case
study work that exists currently, which does not allow one to see how more broad systemic, cultural, and
pedagogical settings shape practice (Chu et al., 2021; Lindstedt et al., 2020).
is study assists in this signicant deciency by carrying out a comparative, mixed-methods study
of how adapted mathematical games are developed, enacted, and accepted in Spanish primary and lower-
secondary school classrooms and those in the United States. Specically, it examines how teachers in the
two contexts extend mathematical games to include students with varying learning proles; how these
extensions articulate inclusive education values and curriculum purposes; and what organizational or
cultural forces facilitate or render them dicult to achieve.
Spain and the United States are two enlightening cases to contrast because they possess dierent
but intersecting approaches to mathematics education and inclusive education. e United States, with
decentralized but legally mandated institutions like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
has implemented mechanisms of dierentiated instruction through IEPs (Individualized Education
Programs) and inclusion mandates (Shute et al., 2016). It also possesses a fairly robust ecosystem of
educational research and resource development for gamication and learning technologies. Spain, being
more centralised in terms of curriculum and teacher training, has become more proactive in promoting
inclusive education through national reform like the LOMLOE (Organic Law for the Modication of the
LOE), albeit patchy implementation and strong dependence on autonomous community policy (Clarke,
2011; Gocheva et al., 2022).
Also, the countries dier signicantly in classroom culture, classroom autonomy, parental participation,
and the believed function of games in the learning process. For example, American teachers have more
freedom over lesson planning and are rewarded with the encouragement to try things in the classroom,
while Spanish teachers have more rigid structures, usually controlled by external exams and textbook-driven
curricula. ese dierences will probably impact how mathematical games are interpreted, translated, and
implemented into regular class practice, particularly for those who require special accommodations (Radha
et al., 2016; Sarría et al., 2017).
e main goal of this research, therefore, is to provide a detailed, evidence-based description of how
adapted mathematical games are used to promote inclusive learning of mathematics in two contrasting
education systems, and what can be learned about policy, teacher preparation, and pedagogy from such
a comparison. e study uses teacher and student interview data, class observation, questionnaires, and
analysis of policy documents collected in 24 schools (12 in each country), oering both depth and breadth
of data.
e study has the following primary objectives:
• To explore the types of mathematical games used in inclusive classrooms in Spain and the U.S. and
how these are being adapted to meet a variety of student needs.
•
To identify general and context-specic pedagogical strategies employed by teachers when utilizing
adapted games in mathematics.
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• To compare such strategies to national inclusive education and mathematics instruction policy
• To investigate students' attitudes towards participation, accessibility, and learning outcomes with
regards to adapted mathematical games
• To analyze the cultural, institutional, and professional development elements that aect teachers'
ability to develop and integrate adapted games.
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
Geometry becomes now the object of signicant educational discussions with regard to education for
inclusivity. Even if geometry retains the extraordinary privilege of being learnable solely by the eye alone,
by the hand alone, or with the support of computer technology, this visual/spatial nature retains the
signicant complicity relations with the students with the precise proles, namely with the visually impaired
ones, the ones with autism and specically with ASD, with the ones with specic learning diculties, with
the ones with intellectual disabilities. us, within this dicult educational environment, the expression
“accessible geometry" emerges. is expression indicates the necessity of reinstating the process of learning.
“Accessible geometry is about far more than simplifying the math": it is about enabling the same level of
participation and attainment for all pupils irrespective of their abilities. us, it shares many signicant
features with other models that base their importance on the responsive teaching for the inclusive classes,
namely the del Cerro Velázquez & Morales Méndez model from 2018.
It's also evident that there's a great concern shown by the literature for multisensory methods, which
can be considered a means to deal with these types of problems. For example, it's said by Russo et al. (2023):
“it's essential to initiate visual and kinesthetic methods for mathematics, beginning with those pupils who
have learning issues.“ Also, it's observable that there's an important set of key issues being shown by the
literature that have to be brought into focus by mathematics education, for example, instruction design,
properly designed, correctly, according to Senk et al. (2012): “Overall, designing instruction involves several
challenges that make this task more complex, and indeed, many educators face challenges related to issues
of obstacles in instruction design at the level of the design of the system." Considering instruction design,
educators deal with issues regarding “obstacles in an ineective and inexible curriculum and generic
designs that can’t deal with innovation and modications that correspond to new needs—itself implies
excluding people with dierent qualities; there are pupils who nd themselves “lost in the education
system“, according to Moleko (2022). Hence, inclusion becomes even more of a school-wide issue that has
to be addressed, as opposed to turning into a personal issue for the teacher. It is further mentioned by
Rodriguez-Ascaso et al. (2018) in their study that having a collective commitment towards school inclusion
implementation is very essential in comprehensively implementing school inclusion. In addition, adaptive
methodologies also have to be used while assessing inclusion, and thus, more equal assessments are even
more preferred, as mentioned by Quintero et al. (2019).
The Research Gap: The Need for Comparative Analysis
Despite the progress made in the law and the adoption of geometrical integration policies like IDEA in
the USA and LOMLOE within the Spanish education system, many obstacles must be overcome for SEN
students if equal geometrical knowledge is to be achieved by these students within these two countries. Even
though a recent increase has been observed within mathematics access studies within inclusive environments
within academic publications, a vacuum has been identied concerning unique methodology approaches of
geometry within a multicultural environment. Prior studies primarily focused upon conventional studies
upon inclusion within mathematics or the use of AT, but little academic attention has been given towards
a critical comparison upon geometric accessibility within dierent educational systems.
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e USA and Spain are also relevant and complementary learning contexts to each other, within which a
comparative study might be developed. Both have signed political agreements related to inclusion, and both
countries have a learning curriculum that focuses on the care of diversity. However, they are dierent from
each other from a structural and cultural point of view since aspects such as the organization of schools,
sta training-where dierences in the training of teachers were pointed out by Tatto & Senk (2011)-and
the implementation of UDL principles have been or are being developed in dierent ways. Besides that, the
impact of the digital divide on these inclusive practices is one more log that researchers such as Li (2025)
began to explore in other contexts.
Furthermore, in the application of these policies, the theory appears not to meet practice. Whereas
the legislation of IEPs in the U.S. seems to enforce the guarantee of accessibility, this seems susceptible
to charges of over-bureaucratization, as was suggested by Lombardi et al. (2015). Whereas the LOMLOE
framework in Spain seems eective at outlining broader policy guidelines, these seem not to enforce active
measures within the classroom activities, a deciency also identied by Gee et al. (2020). is, as Graham
argues, attains a two-way dependency between policy and practice, as described by Graham (2020). us,
this study seeks to ll this existing knowledge gap by evaluating and exploring dierent approaches directed
at teaching in the geometry category that is made available in the US and Spain.
III. METHODS AND MATERIALS
e research consisted of a total of 24 schools—12 in Spain and 12 in the United States. Schools were
obtained through various stratied purposeful sampling with the intention of obtaining diversity in school
size and geographic location.
e research was conducted over one year. It was a three-phased protocol in the context that it involved
preliminary survey distribution and document collation, classroom observation and semi-structured
interviewing, and concluding comparative document analysis and validation interviewing with stakeholders.
In phase one, teacher and student participants from the two nations conducted standardized questionnaires
meant to provide perceptions and self-reported practices with regards to the application of mathematical
games. e 40-item Teacher Adapted Games Survey (TAGS), encompassing Likert-scale, multiple-choice,
and open-ended items was specially developed for this study and tested via expert review and pilot testing in
non-participating schools in the two countries. Items, were written to assess frequency of game utilization,
game types utilized, adaptation level, alignment with learning objectives, perceived student outcomes, and
implementation barriers. Student Game Experience Survey (SGES) contained 25 items assessing student
engagement, enjoyment, perceived diculty, and ease of access of math games. Surveys were translated into
Spanish by bilingual education researchers and back-translated for linguistic equivalence. All participants
were advised of their rights and gave informed consent, and all student participants who were under age
18 had parental consent obtained.
During the second phase, a total of 144 mathematics lessons were observed—six per school—according to
a structured observation protocol. Observation was scheduled to represent a variety of instructional formats
and mathematics content areas, such as number operations, geometry, data analysis, and problem-solving.
An Adapted Game Observation Tool (AGOT) was developed for this study and consisted of a checklist and a
narrative eld notes section. e observers recorded the type of games used, extent of adaptation, student
participation patterns, facilitation strategies used by the teachers, accessibility features, and meeting
curriculum standards. e observers were trained researchers with knowledge of inclusive pedagogy and
bilingual English and Spanish prociency. Two observers at each school were used to minimize bias and
ensure inter-rater reliability. Nearly 20% of the observations were coded independently by both observers,
with an inter-rater agreement of 91%, which was in accordance with the pre-determined requirement for
acceptable consistency.
In addition to observation, semi-structured interviews were also conducted with teachers, students,
and support sta. All teachers completed a 45–60-minute interview with a protocol addressing their
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pedagogical philosophy, game adapting strategies, facilitators and challenges, and opinions towards pupil
response. 48 teacher interviews and 24 support educator interviews were completed. Student interviews,
20–30 minutes in length, addressed learning style, enjoyment of playing games, self-reported mathematics
ability, and perception of inclusion. Student participants were chosen to represent a range of cognitive and
socio-emotional proles. All interviews were recorded electronically and transcribed verbatim. Spanish
interviews were translated by native-speaking research personnel and checked for accuracy.
e third phase was analysis of national and institutional documents related to mathematics instruction
and inclusive education. Researchers gathered and examined school-level inclusion policies, curriculum
guidelines, lesson plans, teacher training materials, and national policy papers such as the U.S. Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Spain's LOMLOE and LOMCE reforms. A document analysis
form was also created to search for themes on game-based learning, inclusion principles, and budgeting.
ese data were triangulated to consolidate ndings from other sources and place observed practice in
more general systemic frameworks.
Quantitative survey data were analyzed using SPSS Version 27. Descriptive statistics were calculated for
summarizing frequency and types of adapted game use, perceived eectiveness, and self-reported student
outcomes. Inferential statistics included independent samples t-tests to determine whether responses
varied between national contexts and multiple regression analyses to identify predictors of inclusive game
usage, e.g., teacher training, support from the school, and class size. Missing data were minimal (<2%)
and addressed with listwise deletion. All statistical tests were conducted at a signicance level of p < .05.
Qualitative interview and observation eld note data were coded using NVivo software with a grounded
theory approach. Axial coding subsequent to initial open coding established relationships between themes.
Inductive code development was obtained through weekly peer debrieng of research sta. End-stage
thematic categories consisted of game adaptation strategies, inclusion outcomes, implementation barriers,
student empowerment, and contextual inuences. Member checks were conducted for a sub-sample
of participants within each nation to agree interpretations. Observational information was utilized as
independent ndings, and also to corroborate self-reported practice from interviews and surveys. Data
integration using qualitative and quantitative data took place through convergent design, with ndings
synthesized at interpretation stage and not sequence.
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
e rst of these major ndings relates to the nature and scope of mathematics games used. In the
USA, a high variation of adapted games was observed across the grades, especially for student groups with
disabilities. ese varied from board games with rule adaptations, computer math games with adjustable
skill levels, kinesthetic games with physical movement and calculations incorporated, to role-play scenarios
with embedded mathematical thinking. Approximately 72% of U.S. classrooms observed played mathematics
games at least two times a week. For comparison, only 38% of Spanish classrooms played games during their
math lessons once a week, and these were unmodied and more frequently used more often as incentives
or enrichment activities rather than as primary instructional tools.
American educators would typically create or select games that incorporated Universal Design for
Learning principles to oer multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement. Teachers, for
instance, would allow the use of manipulatives or visual supports within a game to address diverse cognitive
needs. In one of the fth-grade American classrooms observed, a mathematics card game was adapted
to include color-coded symbols for English Language Learners and a tactile feedback device for a visually
impaired student. Spanish instructors, while sometimes adapting games to suit classroom constraints or
learning goals, were less likely to include explicit adaptations for students with special educational needs.
Adaptations were more likely to be limited to simplied instructions or additional time for gameplay,
without underlying changes to core mechanics or game goals.
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e second general theme—nature and purpose of adaptations—manifested in clear philosophical and
practical distinctions. United States adaptations were more student-centered, with the aim of maximizing
access, engagement, and prociency for students with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder
(ASD), ADHD, and language impairments. Instructors were seen actively adapting game mechanics like
time limits, groupings, ruleset complexity, and evaluation criteria. For instance, it was standard practice
to provide students with attention issues with the choice of playing abbreviated rounds or being paired
with a peer mentor who would be able to assist with rule compliance and concentration.
Changes were generally reactive, enacted to address specic issues that emerged during teaching rather
than planned changes. Teachers referred to more frequently those changes as "informal adjustments" rather
than research-based practices. Interestingly, in several cases, Spanish changes had more behavioral or
classroom management rather than instructional dierentiation functions. One Spanish teacher described
modifying a multiplication game by adding a reward system merely to more eectively motivate students
and reduce classroom disruptions.
In terms of learning gains and engagement, American students at all times registered higher levels of
interaction, verbal engagement, and emotional engagement in game-based learning activities. Quantitative
survey data showed that 87% of American students with formally documented learning needs reported
enjoying math more when games were used, and 62% reported that games helped them to better grasp
key concepts. In Spain also, although 75% of the participants also reported pleasure with game-based
activities, just 41% of them associated them with improved understanding. e same pattern appeared in
classroom observations: games in U.S. classrooms were woven into formative assessment practices and
generally concluded in guided reection or mini-conferences to consolidate learning. On the other hand,
in Spanish classes, less regular game time followed metacognitive or academic processing and therefore
lowered its instructional potential.
ere were also salient disparities in the dimension of autonomy on the part of the students and peer
collaboration. e United States students were more likely to have the freedom to decide on one of many
game formats or take on a main role, i.e., game facilitator or scorekeeper. Autonomy was also associated
with increased motivation and social learning. In Spain, although students enjoyed playing games, they
were more teacher-directed with little room for student-initiated adaptations or options. Peer interaction
in Spanish classrooms was more likely to be friendly competition than problem-solving cooperation, and
that is one possible explanation for the lower levels of academic discussion observed during game playing.
e other critical factor was teacher training and beliefs. US educators felt more competent and
able with adapted math games, as 81% had trained specically on game-based learning and universal
instruction. Some referred to professional development workshops, special education coursework, and
online communities of practice that provided tools and structures for adaptation success. An elementary
school teacher in Texas explained, "Games aren't necessarily fun—they're data-rich environments if you
know how to look. I learned how to dierentiate game mechanics when I got my special ed certication,
and it revolutionized the way I teach."
Condence for Spanish teachers was less consistent. Only 39% of the teachers reported having learned
through formal training game-based learning methods, and 68% reported that they would be more
comfortable using games if they had formal manuals or peer mentoring. A Spanish instructor encapsulated
the challenge: "We like games, but we don't always know how to make them work for everyone." More
often than not, they were given the status of a cameo appearance, as opposed to being a centerpiece of
the lesson." Spanish teacher interviews showed broad recognition of games' motivational value, but less
agreement about games' instructional role, especially for students with disabilities.
Systemic and cultural forces also played a strong role in mathematics game integration. American school
and district policies often actively encouraged instructional innovation, including teaching with games.
Most American schools also had innovation teams or inclusion coordinators who encouraged adaptive
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game adoption through demonstration lessons or curatorial treatment of curriculum. Lastly, the American
emphasis on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) demanded ongoing consideration of instructional
access and often included the selection or creation of adapted math games.
Spanish schools, however, were subject to more centralized curriculum and assessment demands, some
teachers described as limiting experimentation with innovative pedagogical methods. Although current
Spanish education reforms encourage inclusive orientations, uneven policy-practice implementation
persists. Interviews revealed that although school principals were inclined to support inclusive ambitions,
signicant professional development investment in this regard still remained absent. Furthermore, cultural
norms regarding competition and conformity in teaching sometimes clashed with the open and student-
centeredness of game-based activities.
ese trends were also corroborated by the quantitative component of this study. On a Likert-scale
questionnaire of self-reported eectiveness of mathematics games on conceptual understanding development
(1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree), U.S. teachers had a mean of 4.3 (SD = 0.5) in contrast to Spanish
teachers with a mean of 3.1 (SD = 0.8). Professional development (β = 0.42, p < .01) and administrative support
(β = 0.35, p < .05) were predicted by regression analysis to be predictors of high delity implementation
of the game.
Pre- and post-unit quiz measures of student performance and rubrics assessing problem-solving within
game activities revealed small but statistically signicant gains in U.S. students' conceptual understanding
and procedural skill exposed to adapted games. Spanish students reported positive aect with no signicant
performance dierences between game and non-game instruction, suggesting instructional framing and
adaptation quality to be crucial to generating academic gain.
e critical need for the study is supported by the identied research gap itself, which is the need to
subject adapted mathematical games to serious scrutiny, especially in cross-national contexts. Given this
important deciency noted by authors in the eld, who pointed out the lack of such comparative analysis-
with specic reference to Brinkhuis et al., 2020, and Samavati et al., 2024-the robust, comparative, mixed-
method approach adopted here directly answers that call.
is core quantitative nding-that only American students demonstrate sustained gains in school
performance from modied gameplay-is important for the renement of pedagogical theory. e implication
of such an outcome is that while games-very enjoyable in both countries (87% in the US, 75% in Spain)-are
not enough in and of themselves, what actually translates engagement into academic gain is the quality
of instructional framing and adaptation. is corroborates the literature that warns game-based learning
may leave behind certain students with dierent cognitive, social, or behavioral needs, unless games are
purposively modied.
e research on adaptive mechanisms for improvement supports the greater eectiveness observed in
US classrooms, where adaptations were formalized and guided by UDL principles. A study conrming that
the implementation of adaptive game-based instruction may result in statistically signicant changes in
mathematical performance, especially in students diagnosed with mathematics learning disorder (Samavati
et al., 2024), corroborates the nding that modied games can be extremely promising if they are designed
to specications and suciently supported. In addition, the usage of in-game formative assessment in
the US through formal planning mechanisms like IEPs supports the call for embedding assessment and
adaptation in games (Shute et al., 2016). e inclusion of visual, touch-based, group, and kinesthetic features
in adapted games in the US supports external recommendations that these types of features are better
aligned with UDL principles (Andrews & Diego-Mantecón, 2015; Gris et al., 2017).
By comparison, the Spanish case, relying more on games for incentive than pedagogy and with ad hoc
reactive modications, had less scaolding and less measurable academic gain. is is in line with ndings
that single nation case studies, normally dominating the eld and conned to specic settings of treatment
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or specic computer games, do not reveal how a systematic lack of support and formal adaptation-as in
the case of Spain-restricts the ow of motivation into improved learning outcomes in mathematics (Chu
et al., 2021; Lindstedt et al., 2020).
Indeed, professional development (β = 0.42, p < .01) and administrative support (β = 0.35, p < .05) were
strong predictors of high-delity implementation, reinforcing the broader literature on systemic inuences.
e dierence in greater condence and specic training reported by US teachers stands in contrast to the
more generic, less systematized training in Spain and underlines how cultural and institutional factors, such
as teacher training and curriculum exibility, importantly inuence how math education is implemented
across cultures (Radha et al., 2016).
is dierence in implementation is further framed by cultural attitudes toward dierentiation, with
American schools preferring individualism and Spanish schools leaning toward group cohesion and
standardization. e dierences permeate how the mathematical games are "interpreted, translated, and
implemented" Radha et al. (2016). at nding agrees with the observation that systemic structures shape
teacher autonomy and practice, such as the legal mandates in the US through the IDEA, versus the more
centralized and textbook-driven curriculum in Spain, an important area for comparative study Ivan et al.
(2017).
V. CONCLUSIONS
•
In the study, the implementation of math game design as adapted inclusive education practices within
the educational environments of two national educational systems, the United States and Spain,
across the educational levels of elementary schools and middle schools, is compared. On behalf of
analyzing teacher practices, structural issues within institutions, cultural views, and educational
outcomes within math game design, implementation, and eectiveness to adapt them to pupils
having disabilities and/or learning disabilities in math, a comparative analysis of the study follows
based on the qualitative and quantitative design of research.
•
Essentially, the research reiterated the potential for mathematical games designed with consideration
for the specic needs of varied learners. Engaging interest, enjoyment, and interaction were
prevalent for the students at the two sites while learning mathematical problem-solving through
playing games. How well the games were implemented to realize measurable learning outcomes and
equitable learning experiences diered drastically between the two sites and hinged on factors like
teacher preparedness and systemic factors. ere are several critical implications emanating from
the research ndings.
• To start with, it has been conrmed that playing mathematics games, per se, lacks potency and
inclusiveness; instead, it resides within their design, supplementation, and integration with larger
designs of curriculum. e educators in the United States showed preference to modify the rules,
content, and formats based on learners with learning disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD),
or Attention-Decit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ere has been preference to modify based
on their Individual Education Plans (IEPS), Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and consultation
with special educators, which contributed to specialized learning objectives, better alignment with
curriculum benchmarks, and achievement outcomes with respect to targeted mathematics concepts.
• Games were also employed within Spanish lessons, although again, more as motivational tools and
fewer as structured learning strategies. e educators did not have the expertise of using games
with those of dierent learning needs, and this is observed through fewer games, fewer scaolds,
and fewer learning accomplishments that were visible. Despite games promoting social inclusion
and support among peers within Spanish lessons, results were less predictable with games and
learning concepts, and thus, there is the general conclusion that social learning requires eective
intentions and expert learning.
Educación
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• Next, the success factor of teacher training in implementing the software was important here too.
Although it was not directly featured in the US context, the training of the teaching sta in the US
regarding the use of the software not only enabled them to deliver accommodation in the class but
also to implement the use of the software to achieve cognitive learning goals. Notably, the training
of the teaching sta in Spanish courses is not as systemic as it is in the US, especially with regard
to in-service training in mathematics teaching methods.
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