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Maths resource breaks national trends in Primary Mathematics

Announcement posted by Slatescience 08 Dec 2016

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Maths resource breaks national trends in Primary Mathematics

December, 2016 – Reassuring results come at a good time for teachers as PISA and TIMMS suggest a steady decline in mathematics across the country.  A recent research report has found Matific, a new mathematics resource that is aligned to the Australian Curriculum, helped increase Australian students’ maths test results by 34 percent.

The TIMMS study highlighted that Year 4 students in Australia are performing worse than in previous years and this trend was confirmed when the PISA assessments indicated that Year 8 students also experienced a decline.

“Students are unable to successfully make the transition from primary school to high school mathematics and the reason for this can be attributed to a shallow understanding of the fundamentals and an over reliance on rote learning.  said Mr Hughes, Education Expert at Matific. As a nation we are disengaging with mathematics and it all begins in primary school”

Associate Professor Catherine Attard,  from Western Sydney University, recently completed a study, which involved working with over 450 students to understand the effect Matific could have on maths learning and engagement in primary schools.

When comparing pre-trial and post-trial tests there was an average improvement of 34 per cent in results. According to Attard, one reason for the improvement is the fact that whilst Matific is an educational tool, kids found the game based activities a fun and engaging way to learn maths.

“We found that the students engaged in the trial knew they were learning maths, but because they found the games were fun, they actively wanted to continue playing them and learn more. This is significant as it helps children have a more positive experience,” said Associate Professor Attard.

PISA and TIMMS assessments found that not only did Australian students perform poorly in relation to answering fundamental maths calculations but their ability to problem solve has continued to slide over the past decade. Matific’s approach focuses on interactive activities, each of which, allows children to immerse themselves into the fun world of maths, all while learning new skills and receiving instant feedback to help them further develop their conceptual understanding and problem solving skills in mathematics.

Matific also aims to relieve the feeling of anxiety, tension and dread that so many kids feel during maths exams or class time and give parents the confidence to know their child is genuinely enjoying the learning process and taking on board new skills when it comes to maths.

“Our goal is to change the way children view mathematics. By helping them see maths in a positive way, we will begin to see this trend reverse” Said Mr Hughes.

Matific was co-founded by online entrepreneur Leon Kamenev, who recently sold his stake in online food delivery service, Menulog. A hardworking father of three, Kamenev saw Matific as an opportunity to revolutionise how kids learn maths by making it fun and accessible.

Matific is available across multiple platforms including: desktop computers and tablets and can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.

For more information visit www.matific.com.au or find Matific on Facebook and Twitter.

-ENDS-

ABOUT MATIFIC

Matific is an award winning, global product that provides e-learning mathematics tools to primary schools. Matific expanded to Australia in 2016 and was co- founded by Online Entrepreneur Leon Kamenev. Leon also founded multiple leading web properties, including HotelClub, RatesToGo (an Orbitz Worldwide company), Menulog and MyRate.

Matific takes a unique approach to teaching K to 6 maths using hands-on and interactive mini-games, called episodes. These immersive bite-sized apps for tablets and personal computers are based on a modular and progressive spiral learning system. The extensive portfolio of activities and worksheets are entirely curriculum-driven. The richly indexed activities and worksheets were developed to easily facilitate mapping onto popular textbooks and standard maths curricula. The system also features an intuitive reporting system that monitors progress and provides real-time and periodical status reports at both the class and student level.