Using Curated Public Media Resources to Support Children's Mathematics Learning

• In Event: Learning From Educational Media at Home: Principles and Practices for Working With Families

Abstract

Objectives
This paper describes the use of media in homes, and among families, to promote children’s mathematics learning. Specifically, we discuss (a) how families took up a curated set of public media resources, aligned to key mathematical skills and, (b) the extent to which use of these curated resources influenced children’s mathematical knowledge and parent behaviors and attitudes related to children’s mathematics learning, including the use of media as a tool for mathematics learning.

Theoretical perspective
Children’s engagement with digital resources has been associated with gains in literacy, science, mathematics and skills related to school readiness (Fisch, 2004, Penuel et al., 2012, Pasnik & Llorente, 2013). Children are intrinsically interested in and motivated by media experiences, and this increased motivation is associated with deeper engagement (Renninger, 2000). Further, educational media can also serve as an anchor for social interactions, catalyzing conversation, communication, and collaboration between children and adults that deepens and extend conceptual understanding (Hong & Trepanier-Street, 2004). Our paper advances research in this area by describing the conditions under which media promotes children’s mathematical learning.

Methods
The study sample comprised 197 preschool-aged children and their families, drawn from low-income urban communities and randomly assigned to treatment (n=101) and business-as-usual comparison conditions (n=96). Treatment families were provided with (a) a curated 12-week media experience, including videos, video clips, and online games designed to address the mathematical skills of counting, ordinal numbers, patterns, shapes, and measurable attributes, (b) a Chromebook and a tablet, and (c) print and online supports to promote joint use of media among children and their caregivers. Data sources included (a) pre- and post-assessments of children’s mathematics learning using a researcher-developed measure aligned to target mathematics skills; (b) pre- and post- parent surveys; (c) weekly media “diaries” of families’ media use, and (d) system log data showing treatment group families’ engagement with intervention materials.

Results
The majority of treatment group families accessed intervention materials; many did so repeatedly, with videos and games being the most commonly accessed resources. Parents in the treatment group reported using media jointly with children, often using media experiences as the context and starting point for conversations. In contrast to the comparison group, children in the treatment group showed significant improvements in the areas of ordinal numbers, spatial relationships, and 3D shapes. At the conclusion of the study, twice as many parents/ caregivers in the treatment condition viewed media as a tool for learning, compared to the start of the study and to parents in the comparison. Parents in the treatment group also reported significant increases in their confidence to support children’s math learning in contrast to the comparison group.

Significance
Educational media and technology has the potential to enhance early learning in domains like mathematics that predict positive academic outcomes in later grades. Findings from our study suggest that creating engaging digital media experiences for children and families, focused on target mathematics skills and organized into a cohesive learning sequence, can play an important role in fostering children’s mathematics learning.

Authors

• Shelley Pasnik, Education Development Center, Inc.

• Savitha Moorthy, SRI International

• Carlin Llorente, SRI International

• Naomi Hupert, Education Development Center, Inc.

• Ximena Dominguez, SRI International