Computer-Assisted Intervention for Children With Low Numeracy Skills, Article Review Example

Summary

In “Computer Assisted Intervention for Children with Low Numeracy Skills” the authors detail the results of their experiment using computers to help improve the performance of kindergarten students who struggle with numeracy skills. Those who struggled with numeracy struggled in a number of different areas, ranging from simple calculations to sequences and number comparison.The study involved separating students into two different treatment groups. One group was instructed to play computers games that had been designed to “train number sense” and the other was allowed to play games that matched labels to mathematical patterns. The children played these games every day for three weeks. The authors found that after three weeks, the students of both groups performed better with number comparison activities, but they did not notice any improvement in other numeracy skills.

Reaction

The most interesting aspect of this study was the fact that the results were not what the authors had anticipated. At one point, the authors concluded that “computer assisted learning has not met its expectations.” This seemed to be too strong of a conclusion to draw from one experience with only two computer games. Nevertheless, the authors’ warning to teachers to be cautious in their faith in computer-assistive learning was both unusual and helpful. Sometimes, teachers and administrators latch on to trends that do not truly benefit their students.

Application

The most important lesson I learned from this article, was to look at existing evidence and success rates before employing computer games or new technology in the classroom. Computer-assisted learning has become very trendy as the world has become more computerized, but it is important to use technology that benefits students, rather than simply using any new devices or games that appear on the market.

References

Räsänen, P., Salminen, J., Wilson, A., Aunio, P., & Dehaene, S. (2009, October). Computer-assisted intervention for children with low numeracy skills. Cognitive Development, 24(4), pp. 450-472.