DreamBox Learning®» Math research

SRI Study: Changing the education landscape with intelligent adaptive learning

Jessie W — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:49:03 +0000

Our customers can attest to how DreamBox Learning’s math program has changed the lives of their students. Our intelligent adaptive learning program supports a broad range of learners, both struggling to advanced. And the greatest satisfaction comes from students feeling empowered and more confident in their math ability. With the latest study released by SRI International, we now have confirmation backing our customers' voices. The SRI International study, Evaluation of Rocketship Education’s Use of DreamBox Learning Online Mathematics Program, was commissioned by Rocketship Education to measure the impact of online math learning on its students’ academic growth. “Intelligent adaptive learning is a game changer” To measure learning progress, students were administered the NWEA MAP mathematics test at the beginning and conclusion of the study. The study found that Rocketship students who received additional online math instruction through the DreamBox Learning program scored an average of 2.3 points higher on the NWEA mathematics test than similar students who did not receive the added online instruction time. For the average student, these gains would be equivalent to progressing 5.5 points in percentile ranking (e.g., from the 50th percentile to the 55.5th percentile) in just 16 weeks. This SRI study validates DreamBox Learning’s core value proposition – that intelligent adaptive learning is a game changer in education. Rocketship is a showcase example of how the platform has significantly impacted math score gains across a diverse landscape of students. I encourage you to read the SRI International study if you haven’t already. Together, we can be a part of the change in education, and empower our young children with the foundation they need to succeed. - Jessie Woolley-Wilson, CEO

Self-Discipline Predicts Math Learning and School Success

Sue — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:23:12 +0000

We've had a lively discussion in the DreamBox offices this week after someone circulated a recent Science Daily article "Self-regulation Game Predicts Kindergarten Achievement." The article describes early childhood development research (by Claire Ponitz from the University of Virginia and Megan McClelland of Oregon State University) that assessed the effectiveness of a game called the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS) task. The researchers discovered that children who did well on this this simple, 5-minute self-regulation game in the fall achieved strong scores in reading, vocabulary, and math in the spring, compared to students who had low performance on the task. The research also showed that the children who performed well on the task scored 3.4 months better than their peers who performed at average levels on mathematics learning.

Reigniting the math learning debate

This sparked a follow-up -- someone else shared the TED conference video "Don't eat the marshmallow yet!" In it Joachim de Posada describes a well-known experiment on delayed gratification and how self-control can predict future success. It's worth a watch, even aside from the video of adorable kids trying their hardest not to eat a marshmallow! TED Conference talk: "Don't eat the marshmallow yet" With so much cultural emphasis on instant gratification -- peer pressure to have/wear the trendy thing, media exposure to a huge number of ad messages, easy credit (well, maybe it's a little less easy now) -- it's no wonder we all feel the pressure to have it all and have it now. How can parents teach self discipline, control, and patience in this environment? (Research suggests that many parents feel this is an area they haven't done well with.) Smarter folks than I have wondered this too, so I went looking for a good resource on this topic. Now it's my turn to share: here's a great article on Parenthood.com: "How to Teach Kids Self-Discipline." There's plenty of insightful, common sense advice, plus a few other good resources if you want to learn more.

Here's to 100 Blog Posts! Vote for DreamBox in the Seattle 2.0 Awards

Tracy — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:14:29 +0000

We're proud to announce this is our 100th blog post. Let's hear it for us! DreamBox Learning started with ... dreams. We envisioned a world where every student enjoys an individually-tailored, world class learning experience. Then created an online math learning game that's both highly effective at teaching math, and it's fun. We strive to reach kids, enrich minds, and inspire a life-long love of mathematics. It has been a wonderful coaster ride as a Seattle startup and we couldn't be more proud of our achievements.

Get the Word Out and Vote For DreamBox Online Math Learning Games

As we reach our 100th blog post, we're asking fans to help us reach another milestone. Please vote for DreamBox in the "Best of Seattle Startups" category in the Seattle 2.0 awards. Why should you take a minute to vote for DreamBox? Here's the best reason: the criteria for this award is "...make a difference on the lives of the people involved..." And no other company in this category is as likely to make such a positive difference in the lives of so many children. We're honored just to be nominated as one of Seattle's best startups. Please vote and pass it along. A vote for DreamBox is a vote for dreams and equations!

Cowboys, Actresses, and Mathematicians

Byron — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:15:08 +0000

I recently came across two articles that really caught my eye.The first was in the Wall Street Journal and was a ranking of the best jobs in the US. Mathematician was ranked #1, with Actuary and Statistician holding #2 and #3 respectively. Computer, science, and engineering related jobs also were very well represented in the top of the list. Everybody has a different take on what makes a good job. And we should be thankful for that. Down towards the bottom of the list are jobs society depends on such as firefighter, nurse, and child care worker. So the listing isn’t about importance or value, but rather more narrowly focused on pay, stress, and working conditions.

Math Education: A Pathway with Limitless Choices For a Child

That said, given the wide range of doors opened by a studying math, science, and engineering, you would think more parents would encourage their children to consider these areas. Not so, according to a second article publishing the results of a poll by Harris Interactive on behalf of the American Society for Quality. A few highlights: 97% of parents “said they believe that knowledge of math and science will help their children have a successful career.” Yet, “only 20% of parents have encouraged/will encourage their child/children to consider an engineering career.” OK, so maybe it slipped parents' minds to make the recommendation. But the really disappointing results for me were: “More girls say their parents are likely to encourage them to become an actress (21%) than an engineer (10%)."And, “31% of boys vs. 10% of girls say their parents have encouraged them to think about an engineering career." So, with all due apologies to Willie Nelson: Parents, don’t you let babies grow up to be actresses. Let them be doctors, mathematicians, engineers, and such.

A Very Big Step: Preschool

Mickelle — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:23:27 +0000

My little girl started preschool this week. I’m not sure who is happier – my husband, my daughter or myself. Probably my husband because I’ve started being nicer to him again. I had no idea how stressful this would be. As the first day grew closer, I started worrying. What if she’s too scared to use the potty? What if the teacher isn’t very nice? What if some kid is mean to her? Nap time? Eating? My husband reassured me, but it wasn’t enough. Doesn’t he know there isn’t anything he could say? For goodness sake, I’m a teacher. I know the research on the importance of preschool. (There are studies that show that children who go to preschool perform better in math than those who didn't -- according to a UK study.)

Preschool Important for Early Math Learning

I also know she needs to be around peers her own age. Often she’ll find learning from them easier than learning from us. I want her to have frequent opportunities to solve puzzles, play in a bucket of beans, learn new songs and count spaces along a game board. There is also compelling research out of Northwestern University about the importance of early math learning -- they found that entering kindergarten with elementary math and reading skills is the most important factor in predicting later academic success; and in fact math readiness was found to be even more important than reading skills! So I want all these things for her. And they’re right there. 9 am every morning. It’s my turn to let go. Maybe I should focus on my husband for a little while.