Digital games and physical games in pedagogical intervention context

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of pedagogical intervention with digital and physical games on children with learning difficulties who are regularly enrolled in a state elementary school. Twelve students participated and were given pre- and post-tests to diagnose operational thinking (number conservation, classification and serialization). For the interventions, two groups were formed with six participants each: PG – the group that played physical games; and DG – the group that played the same games in digital form. The games used during the intervention sessions were Dutch billiards (Sjoelback), Tower of Hanoi and Blink. The results indicate a slight difference between the research groups, suggesting that the intervention employing physical games was more effective. We hope that this will contribute to reflection and the organization of interventions using digital and physical games with children who report learning difficulties.