Numerosity: Play with Addition! and Numerosity: Play with Subtraction! by ThoughtBox, are based on a cutting edge approach to learning math and TWA found while field-testing, the kids kept wanting to come back for more and more play time. We love their statement, “Let’s show our children that Math and Science can be loved.” Numerosity may not have coined the term Gameful Learning, but they refer to it often and explain it as a way to engage and empower learners by placing them in the driver seat. TWA couldn’t agree more! The games are a brilliant way for students to learn and Numerosity has done a smashing job of coming up with an app that has the ability to put the child back in the drivers seat.
When first playing these apps, expect some confusion. There is no equal sign in the equations and the numbers may move around accidentally, which gives the player a whole new equation to solve. We saw trepidation from the children when this first happened. Yet, we all know how fearless kids are to click, so it didn’t take long for them to realize that this was all part of the game. Numerosity wants children to play around with the numbers and try to figure out the problems on their own. It is designed to encourage children to take risks. They learn they must use multiplication before addition, division before subtraction, and realize that negative numbers are nothing to be afraid of. They even get to practice manipulating equations for algebra! “By rewarding success and progress through ‘leveling up!’, Numerosity encourages kids to discover the rules and principles of Math by themselves.” There’s a built-in component that allows parents to receive emails to learn about what concepts their child is experiencing and how they are faring. In the emails they are also given suggestions of what they can do at home to reinforce the concepts their child is learning from the app!
They’ve removed all the negative barriers to math success:
- Our software is “patient” and moves at the right speed for each individual player.
- We don’t teach to a test.
- We encourage experimentation and exploration.
We corresponded with one of ThoughtBox’s founders: Cristina Luminea and she shared her inspiration for Numerosity. ”I was always a math geek and saw math as a puzzle and a game. When I first played with an iPad I realised how powerful it was for kids to be able to play around with the numbers and try and learn from the immediate feedback and figure out the rules by themselves. This is when ThoughtBox started, in September 2011.”
TWA has always believed that education can and should be fun. We noticed that Numerosity has a similar philosophy: “We are passionate about education and we love to have fun while learning.”
We strongly urge you all to install these apps and have your child experience Gameful Learning so that they can prepare for the 21st century mentality of self-directed learning. Oh, and by the way, Numerosity is also available in Spanish , French, Italian, German and Brazilian Portuguese, as well as English. Numerosity has requested user feedback: “We would be honoured to learn with and from our users as we go forward.”