Abstract:
This study examined the effectiveness of learning through play in Grade 2 mathematics within the
context of Vietnam’s 2018 General Education Curriculum. Although learning through play is
considered developmentally appropriate for young learners, empirical evidence regarding its
effectiveness in Vietnamese primary mathematics classrooms remains limited. The study employed a
quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test control-group design involving 132 Grade 2 students from two
public primary schools in Bac Ninh Province, Vietnam. The experimental group consisted of 65
students who participated in structured learning-through-play activities, whereas the control group
comprised 67 students who received the usual mathematics instruction. Data were collected through
pre-tests, post-tests, classroom observations, and students’ learning products. The pre-test results
showed that the two groups had comparable initial mathematics achievement. Following the
intervention, the experimental group achieved a post-test mean score of 8.08, compared with 6.93 for
the control group. The experimental group also demonstrated a substantially greater mean gain from
pre-test to post-test. Classroom observations indicated that students participating in the learning through-play activities displayed active engagement, collaboration, and persistence when completing
mathematical tasks. These findings provide preliminary empirical support for the use of structured
learning-through-play activities in Grade 2 mathematics and offer practical implications for
competency-oriented primary mathematics teaching in Vietnam. |
