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An app targeted at parents and professionals who wish to help children aged two to five years old to develop their mathematical knowledge through fun activities.
Maths@Home app is designed to give adults ideas of various activities that will support the child’s mathematical development using resources easily available in and around the home.
Its design was based on the latest research on mathematical development in children and personalised learning, whilst considering feedback from parents and practitioners.
The activities are informed by the English national curriculum and Early Years Foundation Stage framework.
Project timeline: October 2020 - July 2024.
- Features and benefits
Fun games that can be implemented in daily life without any fuss
The Maths@home games are play-based activities that can be implemented in a child’s daily routine. They are designed to encourage off-screen engagement between family members/teaching staff and children, using resources easily accessible in the home.
There are games to play for when being out and about with a child, being in the bath or swimming pool, when preparing food, preparing for bedtime or just hanging out in the home or classroom. The games are informal and promote mathematical development without the need for any worksheets.
Promoting development and transferability of learning
Mathematical abilities include a wide range of concepts and knowledge that children need to acquire, including number name knowledge, digit knowledge, number sequence knowledge, number sense understanding, shape, money, etc.
The maths@home app includes activities that have been carefully created to support the development of these areas and mathematical concepts and supports how this knowledge can be applied in daily life. The fact that children can choose which activity to play will build their confidence and enjoyment for maths.
Evidenced-based games based on latest research in mathematical development
The games are based on recent research in mathematical development, including our own research that has shown that the interactive games improve mathematical outcomes for children who are at risk for mathematical learning difficulties (Van Herwegen et al., 2018).
Scaffolding learning at appropriate developmental level
The learning goals of the Maths@home games have been carefully planned and developed in line with the latest research on mathematical development and the English national curriculum. Thus, there is a structured and systematic progression through the levels of the games tackling different domains of mathematics.
- Team
Researchers
The Maths@home games were developed by a team of academic researchers from the Child Development and Learning Difficulties Lab:
- Dr Jo Van Herwegen (Principal Investigator)
- Dr Laura Outhwaite (Co-Investigator)
- Erica Ranzato (Researcher/ PhD student)
Advisory panel
The Maths@home advisory panel consists of experts in mathematical development, education technology, learning strategies and inclusion as well as parents and teachers. The board has provided valuable input and feedback at various points during the project.
- Dr Helen Thouless
- Professor Manolis Mavrikis
- Professor Amelia Roberts
Collaborations
- Mark Pearce at the Workshop
- Thomas Buchi (Business Consultant)
- ISD Research IT Services: Raquel Alegre and Dr Peter Schmidt
- Professor Dean Mohamedally
- History of the app
The Maths@home games were first developed during the first COVID 19 lockdown in the UK in March 2020.
During this difficult time many parents had to homeschool their children and thus the team posted on a weekly basis a short description of a new mathematical game on social media. The feedback from parents was very positive but parents could not store the games very easily or access them again at a later time. This led to the development of the Maths@home games as an app.
The app was co-produced with feedback from various focus groups, so that parents and teachers informed the design and features of the app as well as the nature and structure of the games.