Teachers’ Struggling in Identifying the Semiotic Potential of Mathematical Board Games

There is a small but still growing body of literature about the implementation of board games as means
for teaching mathematics. Researchers have noticed the opportunities provided by specific board games
in developing number sense. However, there are empirical results showing that primary teachers can
struggle in understanding the potential of a given mathematical board game and then find difficulties
in employing the game in their classes. This chapter contributes to this stream of research by realizing
an a priori analysis of the semiotic potential of the game Shut the Box in respect to the development of
foundational number sense. This analysis is compared to the analysis provided by teachers. While several
of the potentialities of the game emerge from the interviewees, most of their analysis are incomplete.
Teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and their experience in using the game in their classes appear to play
a role in their analysis.