Reflection #6 Matific

Explore Matific. Write a review for a local educational blog about the way in which Matific can be used. Support your ideas with literature.

Matific is a well-structured, interactive and engaging platform that allows students to explore the world of mathematics through play. The platform contains a variety of mathematical concepts and lessons that require students to grasp at key proficiencies such as problem solving, critical thinking and reasoning while allowing them to explore the concepts at their own pace.

'Math' Davis, 2018.

Matific uses a range of mathematical skills and can be used to help students enhance their skills, such as subitising (Piaget, 1952). A prime example of how subitising can be enhanced through Matific is through the episode ‘Spy-A-Meerkat’ for Year 1.  ‘Spy-A-Meerkat’ requires the student to identify how many meerkats pop up on the screen, how many are within a group and then how many groups of meerkats there are. This game can also be interchangeable with multiplication facts, allowing students to quickly see a visual about ‘groups of’ and answer an in-class question promptly (Sayers, Andrews & Boistrup, 2014). As stated by Schoenfeld digital games often promote mathematical thinking as it requires varying levels of goal-orientated decision making (Schoenfeld, 2010).

Within the classroom setting Matific is extremely versatile. Matific has the capabilities of being used as a mental warm-up, developmental and exploration task or even as a closing task to finish off the lesson.

Overall, I strongly believe you can’t go wrong by allowing your students to learn through play, be highly engaged and learn at their own pace.

References

Davis, V. (2018) 'Math' [Image]. Retrieved from  http://www.coolcatteacher.com/free-math-fun-matific-games-math-manipulatives/  

MatificGalaxy. (2017) Retrieved 25 March 2018, from https://www.matific.com/us/en-us/galaxy 

Piaget, J. (1952). The child's conception of number. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul

Sayers, J., Andrews, P., & Björklund Boistrup, L. (2014). The role of conceptual subitising in the development of foundational number sense. A Mathematics Education Perspective on Early Mathematics Learning between the Poles of Instruction and Construction (POEM), Research Symposium, Malmö, Sweden, June 16-17, 2014, A Mathematics Education Perspective on early Mathematics Learning between the Poles of Instruction and Construction (POEM), Research Symposium, Malmö, Sweden, June 16-17, 2014, 2014.

Schoenfeld, A. H. (2010). How we think: A theory of goal-oriented decision making and its educational applications. New York: Routledge.