Games as an educational tool: Insights from pre-service teachers during the implementation of la Clase Mágica.

Abstract

This study explored the experience of a group of pre-service teachers who, during their teaching internship, used games as a pedagogical tool for the implementation of La Clase Mágica (LCM) educational model. This model, with sociocultural foundations, places privilege on teacher education that focuses on the planning and design of instructional activities. In the study, we identified aspects of LMC that contributed to the development of the future teaching practice of the participants. Through the use of grounded theory, the study addressed three questions. These questions guided an open data-coding process with respect to the participants instructional strategies that strongly adhered to the use of games. Thereafter, during a selective codification process, three characteristics of the use of games were analyzed: intrinsic motivation, symbolism and means-end relationship. The 12 study participants were selected considering theoretically-driven sampling and the data saturation principle. The data, collected through interviews, indicate that games constituted a valuable, yet underrecognized, educational tool. The data further revealed that the use of games played an important role during the pre-service teachers training and teaching process, and helped them enhance their teaching practice.