Schola Europaea European School Brussels II

could be an indication of a difficulty in this
area. As well as setting focus activities as
homework I can also set focus activities for
individual children. Using the results table
it is quite easy to identify where individual
children need more practice and target
their efforts in those directions. Mathletics
also offers plenty of opportunities for
differentiation, not only from the teacher’s
side but the children are also able to try the
activities at varying levels. If they are finding
a particular activity hard they can try the
Something Easier button and conversely if
they are finding the activity easy they can
CONCLUSIONS
I originally chose Mathletics as I thought
it would offer the children in my class the
chance to improve their number bonds
skills and consolidate classroom work in
an exciting and motivating way. However,
it has brought additional benefits, some
of which were entirely unexpected. In the
classroom the children are much more
confident with the basic number bonds.
Their recall is noticeably quicker and this
has allowed them to concentrate more on
the new concepts that are being taught to
them this year. The fact that Mathletics can
be accessed from anywhere has helped
to build better links between home and
school. Because they have been working at
home with their children, parents are now
able to talk to me much more specifically
about any difficulties their child might be
having. Before, they might have said to
me “She doesn’t find Maths very easy.”
Now they say to me “She understands
the concept of grouping numbers in tens
and solves those problems quickly, but
she still finds the subtraction sums hard”
and then we can go on to talk about how
we can help her in that particular area.
challenge themselves with the Something
Harder button. When they race they
choose the level they want to race at and
can switch freely from level to level. They
quickly find that it is no fun racing at a level
that is too challenging as they get beaten
every time. Instead I find that they return to
a more appropriate level and practise their
numbers skills where they have a chance of
winning. However, I am also able to choose
at what level the children race at and if
I think that they are not being challenged
enough I am able to block them from racing
repeatedly at a lower level.
I thought that the programme would appeal
to the children in my class but I was not
prepared for how enthusiastic they have
become. Between the activities, the races
and the games there is something in the
programme to appeal to everyone; I have
a very competitive group of children who
loved the races from the beginning but over
time, even the more tentative children, have
grown in confidence and enjoy sharpening
their skills against opponents from the
other side of the world. Finally, for some
children, the computer has been a great
motivator and through the certificate reward
system it has allowed some unexpected
children to shine. By using the programme
consistently it is relatively easy to reach
the number of points required for a bronze
certificate and children who previously had
limited success in Maths are now finding
themselves successful, which is in turn
inspiring them to play even more. For many
children it has built their confidence in their
own abilities and raised their self-esteem
and made them realise that Maths can be
enjoyable and fun!
Samantha Malmbergs
PANORAMA
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