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MathKidoo
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The research MathKidoo is built on

These papers are the ideas MathKidoo is built on. None of them is a trial of MathKidoo.

What we have proved, and what we haven't.

The method is built on established learning science, and we can show you the paper. What we have not done is run the controlled trial that would let us say it beats chanting. That trial is designed and it is next. Until it reports, we will not claim it — and you should be wary of anyone who does.

The ideas and their papers

  • Your child sees each table before saying it.Built on the idea that seeing a quantity before naming it helps

    Fyfe, McNeil & Borjas (2015), Benefits of "concreteness fading" for children's mathematics understanding, Learning and Instruction, 35.

    Carbonneau, Marley & Selig (2013), A meta-analysis of the efficacy of teaching mathematics with concrete manipulatives, Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(2). Open the paper

  • A learned table comes back the next day, and again on a later day, from memory.Built on remembering and spacing

    Karpicke, Blunt & Smith (2016), Retrieval-based learning: Positive effects of retrieval practice in elementary school children, Frontiers in Psychology, 7. Open the paper

    Cepeda, Vul, Rohrer, Wixted & Pashler (2008), Spacing effects in learning: A temporal ridgeline of optimal retention, Psychological Science, 19(11). Open the paper

  • Once two tables are learned, practice mixes them.Built on mixed practice

    Rohrer, Dedrick, Hartwig & Cheung (2020), A randomized controlled trial of interleaved mathematics practice, Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(1). Open the paper

    Rohrer, Dedrick & Stershic (2015), Interleaved practice improves mathematics learning, Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(3). Open the paper

  • The clock comes last, only after your child can do it without one. A slip replays the train slowly, with no red and no buzzer.Built on timed practice after understanding

    What Works Clearinghouse (2021), Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades, Recommendation 6 (Timed Activities), Institute of Education Sciences. Open the guide

    Hasselbring, Goin & Bransford (1988), Developing math automaticity in learning handicapped children: The role of computerized drill and practice, Focus on Exceptional Children, 20(6). Open the paper

  • "By heart" means 29 of 30 answers, each within 3 seconds, on two different days.A bar we chose. It is our own definition, not a research finding.

    No paper.

  • Find Your Level, so your child starts where they are.Built on starting where a child is

    Banerjee, Banerji, Berry, Duflo, Kannan, Mukerji, Shotland & Walton (2016), Mainstreaming an effective intervention: Evidence from randomized evaluations of "Teaching at the Right Level" in India, NBER Working Paper 22746. Open the paper

    Muralidharan, Singh & Ganimian (2019), Disrupting education? Experimental evidence on technology-aided instruction in India, American Economic Review, 109(4). Open the paper

  • Every level: see it, do it with the genie, teach the genie, remember it without the picture, then speed.Built on the idea that explaining to others helps learning. No study tests this whole loop, and 'teach the genie' is our own extension.

    Kobayashi (2019), Learning by preparing-to-teach and teaching: A meta-analysis, Japanese Psychological Research.

    Fiorella & Mayer (2013), The relative benefits of learning by teaching and teaching expectancy, Contemporary Educational Psychology, 38(4). Open the paper

  • When stuck, the genie goes back to the missing piece underneath.Built on mastery learning

    Kulik, Kulik & Bangert-Drowns (1990), Effectiveness of mastery learning programs: A meta-analysis, Review of Educational Research, 60(2). Open the paper

  • The daily limit is 20 minutes; you can set it from 10 to 30.A product choice, not a finding.

    No paper.

What we have not shown

The controlled trial has not run. We make no comparison with chanting or other methods.

Want the papers? Write to contact@brainboot.co.in.

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