Research projects
GBL4deaf - Game-based Learning for Deaf Students
Presentation results of GBL4deaf - Game-based Learning for Deaf Students project, funded by FCT [PTDC/COM-CSS/32022/2017] and Lisboa 2020 [LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-032022] with the partnership of Fundação Altice [8:00]
As part of the research project "GBl4deaf – Game-based Learning for Deaf Students (PTDC/COM-CSS/32022/2017), the video game "Space adventure: Defend the planet!" was designed to stimulate arithmetic competencies in deaf and hearing children. The player must use elementary arithmetical and spatial concepts to rebuild an abandoned space station. Each challenge has three difficulty levels. In the game challenge used in this study, the player must add or remove particles to collect resources. The study follows two research questions: Q1: Did the students progress in mathematics achievement after playing the video game?; Q2: Is the gameplay of Space adventure: Defend the planet! an engaging experience for players? A pre-and post-game mathematical test was applied to measure mathematics achievement and an observational grid to gather information about arithmetical procedures. Ten fourth- to ninth-graders participated in the study - four girls and six boys, aged between 9 and 16, three deaf and seven hearing students with different special needs (dyscalculia, cognitive deficits, autism spectrum disorder, deafness and Asperger syndrome). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, children played the video game using Zoom video conference software in 8-12 sessions (50 minutes, two a three times/week). The results show 4% to 19% of mathematics progression after children played the video game and indicate that they keep using counting-based procedures throughout the game sessions instead of using the tens or compensation strategies. For instance, they kept counting addends starting from 1 or by 1, 2, 5 or 10 using a number line. The current data suggest that the videogame "Space adventure: Defend the planet!" allows educators to gather immediate information about students' difficulties and progression.
Marcelino, L., Costa, C., & Santos, C. (2022). Using Mathematics game-based intervention on children with special educational needs. Proceedings of the 16th European Conference on Games Based Learning - ECGBL 2022. https://papers.academic-conferences.org/index.php/ecgbl/article/view/528
Number Sense Early Identification and Intervention on first-graders
Interview on the program "Azores Today" of RTPA, on September 14, 2015, as the project coordinator of the "Number Sense Early Identification and Early Intervention on 1st Cycle of Basic Education children" project funded by the Regional Secretariat of Education and Culture of Azores.
The study aims to test if the Method Kiel – Numerical Images (MSN) applied in the classroom's context improved arithmetic and cognitive achievement at the end of first grade. Children (n = 130) with a mean age of 6,51 y.o. were screened with a number sense battery to identify students with low, medium, and high early numerical competencies. Pre- and post- neuropsychological tests were applied to evaluate cognitive achievement as memory and executive functioning, and post-test to assess arithmetic achievement. Differences between experimental groups (with MSN application) and controlled groups (without MSN application) showed that children in the experimental groups had better arithmetic achievement results than those in the control groups. However, only children with low numerical competencies showed significant improvement compared to the control groups. The results infer that MSN can be a robust tool to combat early difficulties in mathematics.
Marcelino, L., Cunha Teixeira, R., & Rato, J. (2017). Método sentido de número: intervenção nas competências numéricas iniciais em crianças do 1.º ano de escolaridade [Number Sense Method: intervention in early numerical competencies in first- graders]. Revista Quadrante, 26 (1), 119-144. https://quadrante.apm.pt/article/view/22941
Resumo do editorial da revista Quadrante (p.3)
"Os autores Lília Marcelino, Ricardo Teixeira e Joana Rato focam-se no desempenho aritmético e cognitivo de crianças no final do 1.º ano de escolaridade. Mais especificamente, procuraram perceber se um programa de estimulação focado nas competências numéricas iniciais, denominado de Método Sentido de Número – Imagens Numéricas (MSN), melhora o desempenho aritmético e o desempenho cognitivo no final do 1.º ano de escolaridade. Participaram neste estudo 130 crianças portuguesas que foram rastreadas com um conjunto de questões relativas ao sentido de número para identificar as suas competências numéricas, pré e pós-testadas com uma bateria neuropsicológica parabavaliar o seu desempenho cognitivo, e, finalmente, pós-testadas com um teste de conhecimento numérico para avaliar o seu desempenho aritmético. Foram analisados grupos experimentais com aplicação do MSN e grupos de controlo sem aplicação do MSN. Os resultados mostram que as crianças dos grupos experimentais apresentam melhores resultados no desempenho aritmético, quando comparadas com as crianças dos grupos de controlo, mas apenas as crianças com baixas competências numéricas apresentam melhorias significativas em comparação com as crianças do grupo de controlo. Os autores concluem, ainda, que o MSN se apresenta como uma forte ferramenta para combater as primeiras dificuldades em Matemática, recomendando o seu uso por professores de educação especial e por psicólogos. "