With This Math Games App, Growth Mindset is Possible
How does this math games app uncover a student's positive growth mindset? Read more to find out Julia's journey with Elephant Learning!
March 2020.
Click. Drag. Step back. Hmmm, not quite, she thought.
Sarah put her palm over half of the screen, envisioning a different version of her design.
Glancing to the clock, she saw that it was past noon, the cool breeze of the March afternoon wisping past the window. It was about time for her break, and after that, it'd be an hour before picking the girls up from school.
One month later, things looked a little bit different… but it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke.
Bang. Groan. Stomp. Ugh, this isn’t working, she thought.
Kinsleigh, tore through the living room, dashing through the front door as she saw her neighbors about to go on a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood. Adley was playing with her princess dolls, but unlike Kinsleigh, hadn't even thought about the math homework she'd have to do for tomorrow.
The pandemic brought on a lot of life changes for families all over the country. Parents turned into teachers. Creatives, who'd once thought math problems to be long gone, had to recall their worst memories in the math classroom to try to help their kids not relive the traumatic experiences they had of endless worksheets and impossible homework problems.
Every family was dealing with different challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Sarah's family was no different.
As a graphic designer, her entire work is her art. Her mind is constantly in a flow-state, her brain thinking in colors, shapes, and patterns, not in numbers, letters, and equations, and with her two girls now at home full-time, facing their own struggles, it was almost impossible for her to focus on what she needed to.
Meet Kinsleigh, 7 years old. Unlike all of her fellow female cohorts, she’s oftentimes found playing with the boys, analyzing salamanders outside, uncovering moss from beneath old rocks around her house, and studying amphibians from her science textbook. She’s a huge fan of anything STEM and is always leaving her younger sister in the dust when it comes to test-taking-- especially in math. Though it's not her favorite subject, she understands the connection between math and science, so focuses hard on her growth in both areas, knowing that mastering math will help her become a better future scientist.
Her sister, Adley, couldn’t be any different. Though she’s also a lover of STEM, she's often found dressed up in her favorite princess dresses around the house, finding as many sparkly items of clothing she can and prancing around the house like any one of the Disney princesses. Kinsleigh often tries to encourage her to practice her math, to help her mom when things are looking rough, but Adley always resists, knowing that she’d much rather be singing a song, reading a story, or dancing.
As Sarah struggled with transitioning from her pre-COVID to post-COVID life, Adley’s grades certainly weren’t making her life easier. “I don’t truly understand core math,” Sarah explains, frustrated with the new ways that math is being taught, and wishing she could help Adley more. “I’m planning to teach her how I was taught in the hopes it helps her understand better.” She'd tried many-a math homework help app in the past, but never found the longevity she wanted to keep Adley engaged.
But unfortunately, giving Adley different mathematical instructions only made it worse. Most days, math homework would end in tears, door-slamming, and Sarah feeling like she was only making matters worse. Something needed to change, and fast. The more time Sarah was away from work, the fewer financial resources she’d had to be able to help Adley in her math skills, and the fewer Adley got to practice, the further she'd fall behind her classmates.
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Sarah’s usual solutions were found in Facebook groups. She often found great advice on simple questions, like what the best night light was, but this time, she needed more than just a quick-fix answer.
Scrolling down the page, she saw a mom that was having similar struggles with her youngest girl as well, and she was suggested "Elephant Learning" as a successful math homework help app that'd worked for other moms.
Sarah decided to try it out, knowing that anything was worth trying, and the results astonished both her and Adley.
Once the platform was downloaded onto her computer, she prepared Adley for the first step of the process: the placement exam.
This was a short test that analyzes each student's math understanding, giving Elephant Learning valuable information in figuring out their unique Elephant Age. Each Elephant Age is created through strategic AI analysis, to determine the best problems to give, and the best version of the game to provide. It's catered directly towards each student, unlike typical math programs in school and other math homework help apps, where each student has to be at the same level to continue.
After the exam, it was time for the games to begin! Adley set off to take Elephant Learning by storm, playing on the platform for 10 minutes a day for 3 days a week. Sarah was equally equipped for the new learning experience to follow Adley on her journey to math success.
See, each time Adley plays on the platform, her scores are recorded and deciphered into information that's given to her mom so she can see where she's excelling and where she needs to improve. Along with this comes instructional content for Sarah, so she can be the best cheerleader she can for Adley.
For Adley, she now has the independence to practice math problems without feeling like her mom is sitting over her shoulder. For Sarah, she's now able to do some of her own work while Adley works on both Elephant Learning and her math homework, as with her improvements in the platform came improvements in the classroom.
Best of all, Elephant Learning is a gamified math homework help app, meaning it acts in a similar way to any iPhone or computer game that a child may already be playing. For Adley, this was great, because it finally made math enjoyable, and for Sarah, she was able to relax knowing that Adley was learning and having fun!
Related: With Katie’s Family, Math Works for School and Business!
Adley’s Elephant Age started at a 5.34-year Elephant Age, which was a significant amount under her actual age of almost 8 years old. In less than a month, her age rose up one whole year, advancing her skills and bringing her closer and closer to mathematical mastery!
Through focus, determination, and hard work, Sarah was able to find the solution that best fit Adley, helping both of them relieve stress, and improving Adley's grades significantly!
Now, although the stressors of at-home learning might not have gone away completely, Sarah was able to find a solution for her daughter that's educational, personalized, and fun! For Princess Adley, math didn't have to be a reason to hold her back anymore.
Districts or Teachers that enroll in our pilot program can try the program for free in their classrooms.
Here is a collection of publications created by both third-party and our in house team of scientists to examine the progress of students, classrooms, and schools within our system.
