Recent research from Holland lends weight to the (some might suggest) obvious finding that varied media and methods boost learning, especially in maths.
Even if you feel this another example of educational researchers preaching to the choir, it is worth having a look at the ScienceDaily report and the research site itself.
The researchers established that the lessons worked best when the teachers combined different didactic approaches, when they used different media and when they clearly explained the connection between all of the methods. As the students learn in pairs or in groups using both pen and paper and the digital environment, their learning experiences in the ICT environment are neither isolated nor individual.
This is a useful reminder that there may often be no single method that works best, but that a variety of media, a variety of methods and an engaged teacher to join the dots might be the ideal setup.
I’d be inclined to think that this study also undermines the debates in the US over ‘Reform‘ versus ‘Traditional‘ mathematics. It’s horses for courses, we’re inclined to tell our Maths-Whizz customers, and if different methods benefit different children all we can do is offer as much variety of learning as possible (such as pencil and paper methods, speed games, problem solving and mental methods – all included in Maths-Whizz), tied together in an intuitive fashion.
We’d like to think we have managed this with Maths-Whizz, but we also know full well that engaged parents or teachers are crucial to making any educational service succeed.
As the researchers noted, the teacher [or parent?] is the glue that holds different learning styles and media together:
During computer work, the teacher plays an important role in encouraging reflection. He or she must connect the computer work to the problem as well as to the ‘pen and paper’ maths. The learning arrangement with the different didactic approaches and media appears to demand a lot from the teachers.
The teacher is no less important in the new media age than she was in the days of blackboard and chalk. All we hope to do is give her the best (award-winning) tools to help her do her job.