Supporting Early Math - Rationales and Requirements for High Quality Software

摘要

There is substantial evidence that preschooler's performance in early math is highly correlated to math performance throughout school as well as academic success in general. This paper discusses the potential gains of using targeted educational software to support early math development. To ensure that learning takes place, the design of early math software needs to be carefully considered. This paper argues that notions such as number sense and spontaneous focus on numerosity need to be at the heart of it. The paper also proposes seven design criteria to consider if the goal is to provide strong support for early math via educational software: (1) use content (and a pedagogical approach) clearly based on research on early learning of mathematics, (2) provide a set of relevant representations in an appropriate order, (3) provide informative and meaningful feedback, (4) leverage motivational aspects for the age group, (5) provide individually adapted support as well as challenge, (6) include a reporting function for educators, and (7) enable inclusive pedagogy. These seven design criteria are described and illustrated by concrete examples drawn from a newly developed play-&-learn game in early math: Magical Garden.