Combined fluency and cognitive strategies instruction improves mathematics achievement in early elementary school

One hundred and seventy-eight second grade students from two states (Georgia and Massachusetts) participated in an experiment in which they were randomly assigned to either (1) a computer program designed to increase fluency in addition and subtraction, (2) a program designed to improve cognitive strategy use for addition and subtraction, (3) a program that combined the fluency and cognitive strategy instruction programs or (4) a control condition. The intervention consisted of 40 half-hour sessions (2 sessions per week for 20 weeks). Prior to the intervention, and immediately following the intervention, the participants were tested on fluency, cognitive strategy use, and mathematics achievement. ANCOVAs indicated that children in the combined fluency and cognitive strategy use condition significantly improved their mathematics achievement in comparison to the control group. When we examined the impact of the intervention as a function of gender, boys appeared to benefit from the intervention, but girls did not.

► Second grade students were instructed on cognitive strategy use, fluency, a combination of cognitive strategy use and fluency, or reading.
► The computer-based intervention consisted of 40 half-hour sessions (2 sessions per week for 20 weeks).
► The participants were pretested and postttested on fluency, cognitive strategy use and mathematics achievement.
► The combined fluency and cognitive strategy use group significantly improved their mathematics achievement in comparison to the control group.
► Boys were found to respond better to the intervention than girls.