The Effect of Using Puzzles and Games on Students’ Mathematical Thinking at the Faculty of Educational Sciences and Arts (UNRWA)

This study aimed at investigating the effect of using puzzles and games on students’ mathematical thinking at the faculty of educational sciences and arts (UNRWA), according to their self-efficacy, by using the qausi-experimental approach, with nonequivalent control group design. The sample of the study consisted of (79) students, registered the “basic concepts in mathematics” course, distributed to two sections, one section chosen randomly as an experimental group who was taught during the “Number theory” unit by teaching them through puzzles and games, and the other section as a control group who was taught using the traditional method of instruction. Results of the study revealed that puzzles and games had a positive effect on improving students’ mathematical thinking, and there is no statically significant difference in the mathematical thinking, attributable to the interaction between the group (experimental, control) and self-efficacy (high, moderate).