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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Computer-assisted Interventions on Basic Number Skills

subject

description

Computer-assisted interventions (CAI) on basic number skills have been studied over the last 70 years. The technical development from large, room-sized, mainframe computers to handhelds is revising the school pedagogy in a similar fashion to what school books once did. Computers provide a tool for delivering instruction, but still the contents of CAI have followed on the ruling pedagogical trends of the time. The basic models of repetitive practice to gain arithmetic fluency and problem solving–oriented discovery learning can be found from CAI on numerical skills. The increasing knowledge about educational neuroscience has not changed these models, but turned the attention to the details in the types of numerical stimuli used in training. During these 70 years, there has been a prolific increase in the amount and quality of studies on CAI, but a declining trend in the effectiveness. The charm of novelty is transforming to a daily tool for learning.