Does Math Achievement h’APP’en when iPads and Game-Based Learning are Incorporated into Fifth-Grade Mathematics Instruction?

After 10 years of No Child Left Behind standards-focused education, mathematics scores have improved only marginally for elementary-aged students. Students who developed a solid conceptual mathematics foundation at the elementary level succeeded later in higher-level mathematics courses; thus, educators have sought ways to increase mathematics achievement, especially among elementary school students. Educators have utilized advances in technology with gamebased learning applications and wireless Internet access to create exciting interactive learning opportunities for students that may translate into student achievement. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to examine the effects of iPad use as a 1-to-1 (1:1) computing device on 5th-grade students’ mathematics achievement in two rural Virginia elementary schools. A nonequivalent groups pretest and posttest design was used with 104 fifth-grade students. For one academic quarter of nine weeks, the experimental group used iPads as 1:1 computing devices daily during mathematics class while the control group members did not. A pretest was administered before the iPad intervention and a posttest was administered after the iPad intervention. The change from pretest to posttest was not significantly different between the two groups as measured by a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance. Recommendations for future study include increasing the intervention duration, using additional participants, collecting qualitative data, and providing students with continuous 24-hour, seven-day-a-week iPad access.