Challenges and opportunities in applying constructionist digital games in secondary mathematics education

The growing integration of technology into society highlights the need for educational transformation to better equip students for future challenges and the evolving labor market. Digital game-based learning (DGBL) has emerged as a promising strategy for enhancing learning using interactive digital games. This study investigates the implementation of DGBL in secondary mathematics classrooms, focusing on four digital math games grounded in a constructionist approach that enables adaptation by both teachers and students. Employing a mixed-methods research design, we collected and analyzed both qualitative and quantitative data. The findings reveal that although teachers integrated the games into their instruction, they did not involve students in modifying or creating the games, thereby leaving the constructionist potential largely unexploited. This study contributes to the DGBL literature by offering an integrated perspective (both students and teachers) on the opportunities and challenges of implementing constructionist DGBL in mathematics education.