Overview of Evidence-Based Practices for Teaching Mathematics

Using Computer-Assisted Instruction to Build Math Fact Fluency

“…By decreasing this time between problem presentation and student response, faster student responding is promoted, helping to achieve the goal of math fact fluency. Research suggests that fluent responders provide correct responses in approximately 3 seconds (Forbinger & Fuchs, 2014). XtraMath (www.xtramath.org), for example, is designed to build student fluency to this goal of responding correctly in 3 s or less.…”

“…Another important criterion when selecting a CAI program is the degree of student engagement associated with the application (Forbinger & Fuchs, 2014). There are a variety of CAI programs that turn practicing math facts into fun and exciting games designed to capture and sustain the students’ attention.…”

“…The National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008) identified fluency with whole numbers as a critical skill for math achievement. As described by Forbinger and Fuchs (2014), “fluency is the ability to find an answer quickly and effortlessly, either because the answer is memorized or because the individual has developed an efficient strategy for calculating the answer” (p. 154). Unfortunately, many students do not achieve fluency with basic math facts, by developing either automatic responding or an efficient strategy to calculate answers, which leads to difficulties in overall math performance.…”

“…Unfortunately, many students do not achieve fluency with basic math facts, by developing either automatic responding or an efficient strategy to calculate answers, which leads to difficulties in overall math performance. Students who are not fluent with their math facts are more likely to struggle with concepts and application problems, which require students to build on foundational skills such as computation fluency (Forbinger & Fuchs, 2014; Geary, Hoard, Byrd-Craven, Nugent, & Numtee, 2007). Furthermore, students who are fluent with math facts are more likely to be successful with algebra in the upper grades, which then predicts later significant outcomes including attending and graduating college (Duncan et al, 2007; Ketterlin-Geller, Chard, & Fien, 2008; National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008).…”

“…These methods do not require a significant amount of time or resources to be implemented in the classroom or at home. However, drill and practice activities like these have been long criticized for not being engaging to students and potentially encouraging the use of less efficient strategies such as finger counting (Forbinger & Fuchs, 2014). Although the repetitive nature of the tasks are effective at increasing fluency, their effectiveness may fade if students lose interest in the task and do not engage.…”