Interactive apps promote learning of basic mathematics in children with special educational needs and disabilities
Interactive apps delivered on touch-screen tablets can be effective at supporting the acquisition of basic skills in mainstream primary school children. This technology may also be beneficial for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) as it can promote high levels of engagem...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers
2018
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50278/ |
| _version_ | 1848798207392350208 |
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| author | Pitchford, Nicola J. Kamchedzera, Elizabeth Hubber, Paula Jane Chigeda, Antonie |
| author_facet | Pitchford, Nicola J. Kamchedzera, Elizabeth Hubber, Paula Jane Chigeda, Antonie |
| author_sort | Pitchford, Nicola J. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Interactive apps delivered on touch-screen tablets can be effective at supporting the acquisition of basic skills in mainstream primary school children. This technology may also be beneficial for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) as it can promote high levels of engagement with the learning task and an inclusive learning environment. However, few studies have measured extent of learning for SEND pupils when using interactive apps, so it has yet to be determined if this technology is effective at raising attainment for these pupils. We report the first observational study of a group of 33 pupils with SEND from two primary schools in Malawi that are implementing a new digital technology intervention which uses touch-screen tablets to deliver interactive apps designed to teach basic mathematical skills. The apps contain topics that align to the national curriculum. To assess learning gains, rate of progress (minutes per topic) for each pupil was determined by calculating the average time taken to complete a topic. Progress rate was then correlated with teacher ratings of extent of disability and independent ratings of pupil engagement with the apps. Results showed SEND pupils could interact with the apps and all pupils passed at least one topic. Average progress rate for SEND pupils was twice as long as mainstream peers. Stepwise regression revealed extent of disability significantly predicted progress rate. Further exploratory correlations revealed pupils with moderate to severe difficulties with hearing and/or language made slower progress through the apps than those with greater functionality in these two domains because the use of verbal instructions within the apps limited their capacity to learn. This original quantitative analysis demonstrates that interactive apps can raise learning standards in pupils with SEND butmay have limited utility for pupils with severe difficulties. Softwaremodifications are needed to address specific areas of difficulty preventing pupils from progressing. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:16:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-50278 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:16:06Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Frontiers |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-502782018-03-08T05:33:52Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50278/ Interactive apps promote learning of basic mathematics in children with special educational needs and disabilities Pitchford, Nicola J. Kamchedzera, Elizabeth Hubber, Paula Jane Chigeda, Antonie Interactive apps delivered on touch-screen tablets can be effective at supporting the acquisition of basic skills in mainstream primary school children. This technology may also be beneficial for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) as it can promote high levels of engagement with the learning task and an inclusive learning environment. However, few studies have measured extent of learning for SEND pupils when using interactive apps, so it has yet to be determined if this technology is effective at raising attainment for these pupils. We report the first observational study of a group of 33 pupils with SEND from two primary schools in Malawi that are implementing a new digital technology intervention which uses touch-screen tablets to deliver interactive apps designed to teach basic mathematical skills. The apps contain topics that align to the national curriculum. To assess learning gains, rate of progress (minutes per topic) for each pupil was determined by calculating the average time taken to complete a topic. Progress rate was then correlated with teacher ratings of extent of disability and independent ratings of pupil engagement with the apps. Results showed SEND pupils could interact with the apps and all pupils passed at least one topic. Average progress rate for SEND pupils was twice as long as mainstream peers. Stepwise regression revealed extent of disability significantly predicted progress rate. Further exploratory correlations revealed pupils with moderate to severe difficulties with hearing and/or language made slower progress through the apps than those with greater functionality in these two domains because the use of verbal instructions within the apps limited their capacity to learn. This original quantitative analysis demonstrates that interactive apps can raise learning standards in pupils with SEND butmay have limited utility for pupils with severe difficulties. Softwaremodifications are needed to address specific areas of difficulty preventing pupils from progressing. Frontiers 2018-03-06 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50278/1/Pitchford%20et%20al%202018.pdf Pitchford, Nicola J., Kamchedzera, Elizabeth, Hubber, Paula Jane and Chigeda, Antonie (2018) Interactive apps promote learning of basic mathematics in children with special educational needs and disabilities. Frontiers in Psychology, 9 . 262/1-262/14. ISSN 1664-1078 Special educational needs and disabilities; Interactive apps; Tablet technology; Primary school; Mathematics https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00262 doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00262 doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00262 |
| spellingShingle | Special educational needs and disabilities; Interactive apps; Tablet technology; Primary school; Mathematics Pitchford, Nicola J. Kamchedzera, Elizabeth Hubber, Paula Jane Chigeda, Antonie Interactive apps promote learning of basic mathematics in children with special educational needs and disabilities |
| title | Interactive apps promote learning of basic mathematics in children with special educational needs and disabilities |
| title_full | Interactive apps promote learning of basic mathematics in children with special educational needs and disabilities |
| title_fullStr | Interactive apps promote learning of basic mathematics in children with special educational needs and disabilities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Interactive apps promote learning of basic mathematics in children with special educational needs and disabilities |
| title_short | Interactive apps promote learning of basic mathematics in children with special educational needs and disabilities |
| title_sort | interactive apps promote learning of basic mathematics in children with special educational needs and disabilities |
| topic | Special educational needs and disabilities; Interactive apps; Tablet technology; Primary school; Mathematics |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50278/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50278/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50278/ |