Empirical evidence for benefit?: Reviewing quantitative research on the use of digital tools in mathematics education

Abstract

The benefit of using digital tools in education, and in mathematics education in particular, is subject to debate. To investigate this benefit, we focus on effect sizes on student achievement reported in reviews of experimental and quantitative studies. The results show significant positive effects with modest effect sizes. Possible causes for this are discussed and illustrated with one case study. We wonder if the review studies capture the subtlety of integrating digital tools in learning as much as qualitative studies do, and question their potential to address the “how” question. 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.