iPads in the Classroom Help Students Achieve in Math

The United States currently ranks 25th out of 34 countries that participated in an international math examination called the Programme for International Student Assessment, according to the most recent exam results.

“This is an absolute wake-up call for America,” U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told The Associated Press (News - Alert). “The results are extraordinarily challenging to us and we have to deal with the brutal truth. We have to get much more serious about investing in education.”

Many schools have responded by investing in mobile technology for their students. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has piloted an Algebra 1 app for the iPad called HMH Fuse: Algebra I. According to a study, students who were taught using HMH Fuse and the iPad at the Amelia Earhart School in Riverside, CA (News - Alert) increased their math test scores by as much as nine percentage points. Seventy-eight percent of these students scored at Proficient or Advanced on the California Standards Test, as opposed to just 59 percent of their peers who did not use mobile technology.

HMH Fuse encourages the use of personalized lesson plans in algebra by combining direct instruction with ongoing support, assessment and intervention. All of the tools come together in one easy-to-use solution. The app delivers video instruction, MathMotion step-by-step tutorials, quizzes and tips that are designed to enhance instruction provided by teachers. With HMH Fuse, teachers can review student work online and prescribe intervention and remediation through the Teacher Resource Center.

One of the best predictors of success in math is student attitude toward the subject. All of the districts that participated in the pilot of HMH Fuse reported that students had a more positive attitude toward math as a result of using the app. In addition, students who have positive attitudes toward learning math consistently achieve higher scores on standardized tests.

“Education technology does not operate in a vacuum, and the research findings reinforce that with a supportive school culture and strategic implementation, technology can have a significant impact on student achievement,” said Linda Zecher, president and CEO of HMH. “We’re encouraged by the results of the study and the potential of mobile learning to accelerate student achievement and deepen understanding in difficult to teach subjects like algebra.”

Additional apps in the HMH Fuse lineup like the Algebra II app and the Geometry app are available to download from the iTunes store.