Improving Math Outcomes Through a Play-Based Intervention Adapted for an Indigenous Community in Mexico

• In Event: Math for All: Math Games and Activities to Improve Learning and Attitudes Across Diverse Contexts

Abstract

Oaxaca, one of Mexico’s most culturally and linguistically diverse states, faces persistent educational challenges, particularly in mathematics, due to unequal access to resources and limited teacher training (Cruz Avendaño, 2016; INEGI, 2020). Fractions are especially difficult for children, as they involve abstract concepts like multiplicative reasoning and are often viewed not as an extension of natural numbers but as a separate system (Siegler & Braithwaite, 2017). The [Blinded Program] uses play-based tools - basketball games on a redesigned court and classroom board games (Figure 1) - to help children visualize rational number magnitude, understand fraction-decimal equivalences, and add fractions using number lines (Authors, 2022; 2024). This study evaluates the impact of an adapted version in a rural and Indigenous community in Oaxaca.
The program was grounded in Guided Play, which emphasizes the cognitive benefits of exploration with adult support (Vygotsky, 1967; Yu et al., 2018), and Embodied Cognition, which posits that learning deepens when abstract concepts are tied to multisensory experiences (Nathan & Walkington, 2017). It also drew on Comunalidad, a philosophy of Indigenous life in Oaxaca centered on collective decision-making, communal labor, reciprocity, and connection to land (Martínez Luna, 2013), guiding our collaboration with local leaders, elders, and the education office. Through assemblies and ceremonies, the program was introduced as a shared, community-based effort. Separately, we held meetings with elders and educators who translated Spanish materials into Mixe and discussed the meanings of key concepts.
Participants were 153 4th-6th grade students (46% female), seven classroom teachers, and one PE teacher. Students completed a battery of timed and untimed rational number items and rated their happiness and nervousness afterward. We used a 2 × 2 experimental design with two factors: court condition and classroom instruction. Within each classroom, students were randomly assigned to play [Blinded Program] (n = 70) or participate in regular PE (n = 83), and classrooms were randomly assigned to implement [Blinded Program] activities (n = 4 teachers, 86 students) or continue regular instruction (n = 3 teachers, 67 students). After the intervention, we held two focus groups with teachers. We ran OLS regressions on standardized outcomes, clustering standard errors at the classroom level and controlling for block of classroom randomization, gender, grade, pretest composite math score, and baseline differences on select subtests.
Results showed a significant effect of the court-based [Blinded Program] on the composite math score (b = .31, p < .05) and on students’ reported happiness during the math assessment (b = .32, p < .05), but not for the classroom component (ps > .05). As shown in Figure 2, effects were strongest for conversion items. Focus group findings highlighted enthusiasm for the program, but some implementation challenges were identified in the classroom. Implications and future directions are discussed.
This study demonstrates how play-based programs can be adapted to strengthen math skills and foster positive emotions toward math in rural and Indigenous communities in middle-income countries. It also highlights the need for culturally and contextually responsive approaches, emphasizing the value of deep collaboration with communities to support meaningful and sustainable implementation.

Authors

• Andres Sebastian Bustamante, University of California - Irvine

• Vanessa Noemy Bermudez, University of California - Irvine

• Jesse Giovanni Sanchez, University of California - Irvine

• TERESITA MERINO, University of California - Irvine

• Hernan Encinas, University of California - Irvine

• Kreshnik Nasi Begolli, University of California - Irvine

• Drew Bailey, University of California - Irvine