Evidence for benefit? Reviewing empirical research on the use of digital tools in mathematics education

Abstract

A recent OECD study has raised the question of which evidence we have for the benefit of using digital technology in mathematics education. To investigate this, we focus on experimental and quantitative studies, and revisit the main recent review studies in this domain. The results show significant positive effects of the use of digital technology on student achievement but only small effect sizes. As a conclusion, a plea is made for replication studies and for studies that identify decisive factors through the combination of a methodologically rigorous design and a theoretical foundation in domain-specific theories from mathematics didactics.