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Does the use of Basic Facts games onthe computer Improve Students’Basic Facts recall?
Action research – ICT contractName of School and classes
St Patrick’s SchoolYear 2 to 6 students
Teachers
Joanne Henderson and Wendy Friel
 
 
Abstract
Does the use of basic facts games on the computer improve students’ basic facts?Numeracy development is a major focus in our school this year. As a staff we were all concernedabout the children’s basic fact knowledge and their ability to apply this knowledge to problemsolving. We discussed in depth methods of teaching the children basic facts knowledge and their need to be able to recall the facts quickly. We read articles relating to this issue, and decided toresearch the impact of the children using computer games, both CDs and on-line, to see if thiswould improve the students’ rapid recall of basic facts.We did this research with all the students from Years 2 to 6.The research was carried out over 4 months.At the beginning of June – mid way through term 2 - We tested all the children using a basic factstest in Numeracy stages that had been developed by the UOCE maths advisor. We also tested theYear 5 and 6 on a 4-processes basic facts speed test. This information was collated anddiscussed.The Year 2, 3 and 4 teacher set up a Delicious page where the children could access on-line mathsgames which were appropriate to their numeracy level, and used appropriate maths CDs.The Year 5 and 6 teacher set up a favourites folder with on-line basic facts maths gamesappropriate to their numeracy levels, and used appropriate CDs.All the children were on these sites at least 3 times a week as part of the maths programme.In August all the children were enrolled in the Matheletics Basic Facts Week. This was available tothe children for 2 weeks – the first week as a practice week, and the second week, the competitionweek.At the end of the study, the tests were administered again, and the results compared. At this timethe children were also given a questionnaire, relating to self assessment, and their enjoyment of using the computer games.Our opinions, based on hard data collected, were that the use of basic facts computer games hadhad a positive impact on the students’ recall of basic facts, and that the children themselves felttheir basic fact skills had improved.
 
 
Introduction
As a staff, we were concerned about the children’s recall of basic facts. Although these weretaught, and games were played as part of the numeracy classroom programmes, the children werenot as confident or competent with basic facts as we would like them to be. We decided to try anew way of working on basic facts by using computer games as a regular part of the mathsprogramme, hoping that this would make the children more enthusiastic, and improve their recall.The Catholic Education Commission of Victoria, Australia, presented a submission to the NationalNumeracy Review (Australia), in July 2007. In it, they discussed the value of ICT programmes inregard to mathematics and numeracy, and provided evidence of how they either enhanced or didnot enhance outcomes. Their conclusion was
“The teachers acknowledged the visual and other multimedia attractions of the objects for students and appreciated that the learning objects allowed students to learn mathematics innew ways. They recognised that their students were very engaged and motivated using them and saw these mathematics learning objects as being particularly valuable for their weaker students” (The Learning Federation 2004)
Both teachers noticed the “weaker” students in our classes were more enthusiastic when using thecomputer games.In Kamran Sedighian and Andishe Sedighian’s research “Can computer games help educatorslearn about the psychology of learning mathematics in children”, they noted that “
Playing games is
 
a tangible
 
need for children. When playing well-designed computer games i.e. ones in which themathematics is used as a continual and natural part of the game rather than as incidental diversions from the main activity, children gradually develop the need to learn the embedded mathematical content in order to satisfy their need to play the game.” 
Their observations over a 2 year period led them to state “
Computer games are an integral part of children’s popular culture. (Provenzo, 1991). We have found that situating mathematics learning ina computer game environment brings greater relevance to the subject for children. We found that computer games provide environments in which children find learning mathematics to bemeaningful and useful.” 
 They also discussed the importance of setting goals with the students, and/or the computer gameitself setting the goal.
“Accomplishing these goals can provide children with a sense of success…..An important factor in feeling successful is how children perceive their mistakes. Wefound that since children could recover from their mistakes in the game without forfeiting much they would not feel threatened by making mistakes.” 
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