Teaching math without words can boost students’ understanding, and their resilience

Do kids learn math better if you take away the words? DCPS schools that used a wordless computer program last year increased their math test scores at 3 times the rate of other schools.

At first, students confronted with the strictly visual puzzles in the ST Math program often get frustrated. “Where are the words?” they want to know.

But if they manage to stick with it, it seems they not only develop a deeper understanding of math concepts. They also learn the importance of tackling a task over and over again, and the satisfaction of figuring something out for themselves.

ST Math is the brainchild of Matthew Peterson, who grew up so dyslexic that he didn’t learn to read until 5th grade. He eventually decided to create wordless math games that would help kids who struggle with language learn math through methods that strengthen their spatial-temporal skills. The “ST” in ST Math stands for spatial-temporal.

Through a process of trial and error, Peterson discovered that the games only worked if kids actually wanted to play them. So he created an animated penguin, named JiJi, who moves across the screen, placidly enduring any number of disasters when kids choose the wrong answer.

The animation also shows kids why the answer they chose was wrong. And when they get the right answer, they’re rewarded with a satisfying pinging sound.

The games teach concepts from addition and subtraction to fractions and even algebra, all in visual terms. They work for kids who have language-based learning disabilities, as Peterson did, but they also work for kids who are still learning English or low-income kids with low literacy skills. In fact, it seems, they can work for any kids.

Boosting test scores

MIND Research Institute, the nonprofit that Peterson started to develop the program, has found that ST Math can improve test scores two to three times faster than other curricula. And an independent study found that in a group of Los Angeles elementary schools, ST Math significantly increased the proportion of students scoring proficient or advanced on tests. One formerly low-performing California school credits the program for a dramatic turnaround.

Seventeen years after it was first introduced, over half a million students across the country are now using the software. About 2,000 elementary schools have adopted the program, and MIND Research plans to expand it to go up through high school.

During the first year of ST Math in DC, 2012-13, schools that consistently used the program increased their proficiency rates on DC’s standardized tests by an average of 17 points. Schools that didn’t use the program at all saw their scores rise by an average of 4.5 points.

Funding for the first year of the program in DC came through a partnership between MIND Research, DCPS, and private donors that included Hyundai Motor America and Wells Fargo. That funding covered start-up costs for ST Math for grades 3 through 5 at 31 DCPS schools, about $40,000 per school, according to a DCPS spokesperson. Schools then must pay an annual renewal fee of $3,500, she said.

Another 14 DCPS schools have begun using the program this year, along with 4 charters. MIND Research is sharing their start-up costs and trying to find philanthropic partners to help out.

Leckie Elementary

DCPS’s Leckie Elementary, a high-poverty DCPS school in Ward 8, used ST Math with its 3rd-through-5th-graders last year. Its math scores on DC’s standardized tests went up by over 20 points, to 60% proficient or advanced.

Jerriel Hall, who teaches 3rd grade at Leckie, says that ST Math wasn’t the only reason for that growth. But the school was pleased enough with the program that it decided to begin it in 1st grade this year. DCPS as a whole is planning to extend the program downward to the kindergarten level over a period of 3 years.

Students at Leckie go to the computer lab twice a week for 45 minutes of ST Math, under the supervision of a teacher. In addition, they can opt to use it in class every day for a shorter period of time, although they can also choose to work with other programs. “Most of them choose ST Math,” says Hall.

MIND Research provides in-person training when the program is launched at a school, and teachers have access to online webinars on specific topics throughout the year. Still, teachers may find it tough to deal with students confronted with a new way of learning math.

“The first 4 weeks were a nightmare,” says Hall. “They’re frustrated, they don’t get it. There were tears. They’re 8, 9 years old, and their worlds were crushed.”

But Hall, now in his second year of implementing the program, says that teachers can instill in kids the confidence that will enable them to be successful. Students can use small concrete objects, called manipulatives, to help them grasp concepts, along with old-fashioned paper and pencils.

Eventually, says Hall, “it’s like a light bulb comes on: ‘I can do this!’”

Even so, not all kids at Leckie are using ST Math. Hall says the students who struggle more with math concepts are learning math in a more traditional way, with more teacher guidance.

And MIND Research’s figures showing a dramatic increase in test scores at DCPS schools last year were based on results from only about a quarter of the classes that used the program. Overall, 92 different grades started the program, but 26 of those weren’t included in the results, either because the schools were considered high-performing or because fewer than 85% of eligible students were enrolled in ST Math.

That left 66 grades. But 45 of those weren’t included in the results because they completed less than 50% of the program. That suggests that about two-thirds of those grades encountered problems in implementation, although MIND Research says that proportion is “not surprising for the first year of a new program.”

Frustration is part of the process

Peterson says he deliberately designed ST Math to be frustrating. The goal is not just to get kids to score well on standardized tests. Nor is it even just to give them a visceral understanding of how math works, important as that is. It’s also to build those qualities that have been shown to be crucial to success: resilience and perseverance.

Hall says he’s seen that happen at Leckie. Compared to the beginning of the school year, he says, students now have “greater stamina when it comes to problem-solving. They’re more resourceful, they’ll get less frustrated. They’ll go find things on their own.”

But why do students who use ST Math do better on standardized tests, which re-introduce words into the equation, so to speak?

One reason, Peterson speculates, is the increased resilience students acquire through using ST Math. Another possibility is that students actually become more verbal as a result of playing the games, because they want to talk to each other about what they’re doing. In addition, teachers are trained to connect the wordless games to conventional math language.

Having tried a couple of the games, I can vouch for the fact that they’re both frustrating and addictive. And figuring out the right answer after starting from a place of total confusion is immensely satisfying.

You can try one yourself at the MIND Research Institute website. But be forewarned: don’t start playing if you only have a few minutes before an important appointment, because you just might end up missing it.