The Nuffield Foundation in the UK recently published a report from researchers at Ulster University that analyzes the outcomes of classroom-based mathematical interventions, and gives teachers access to a body of evidence that can assist them in helping primary school children with math.
The systematic review included studies that assessed the outcomes of interventions aimed at improving math achievement in elementary children. Forty-five randomized controlled trials were included along with thirty-five quasi-experimental studies. The studies were published between 2000 and 2017, and were mostly conducted in the U.S. and Europe.
The results of the review suggest that:
- There are effective strategies teachers can use to help with learning math and being fluent with mathematical facts.
- It also found there are many different ways teachers can support children to have a wide bank of strategies to complete mathematical problems, and for children to know when is best to apply them.
- Technology in the classroom can also be helpful as long as these tools have been developed with a clear understanding of how children learn.
The report concludes that the evidence base on mathematical interventions is weak, and recommends that researchers develop this evidence base by testing how effective mathematical interventions are in order to help teachers make evidence-based decisions to support children’s learning.