Last year I bought my first math app ever, Motion Math, and reviewed it in a blog entry. A friend just sent me an article, "Proof in Study: Math App Inproves Test Scores (And Engagement)", talking about an independent study in which Motion Math "showed that fifth graders' fractions test scores improved an average of over 15% after playing Motion Math for 20 minutes daily over a five-day period, a significant increase compared to the control group." It also showed an increase in their overall liking of fractions. Although I think my son does show a natural affinity toward fractions, we seem to be cruising through our fraction curriculum at breakneck speed... Maybe his exposure to Motion Math helped?
I find this all very interesting. I wonder where apps in education are headed...? Do you use math apps in the classroom or with your homeschool student?
(And I don't work for Motion Math or get any kickbacks, btw. I even had to plunk down the .99 for my own game! :)
I've been doing a lot of soul searching on this topic as I know the intrinsic allure these apps have, would love it if it translated to gains too. Drilling down on the study I think that the control group just got no math (that's how I interpreted it at least, it was "regular classroom instruction" that wasn't math related) during the 20 minutes a day the motion math kids were playing the game. To be a fair study, I feel like there should be some comparable bit of math that the non-motion math kids should be doing. What do you think? Spend 20 minutes a day on a topic, I would think of course you'd see gains.
ReplyDeleteI so agree. I also would like to see a study comparing 20 mins a day of a "good" app to 20 mins a day of good teaching (with decent class sizes and adequate materials.)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about the regular classroom instruction...I guess I assumed it was math related. Need to go read it again.