Examining Computational Skills in Prekindergarteners: The Effects of Traditional and Digital Manipulatives in a Prekindergarten Classroom

The authors investigated benefits of digital technology compared with traditional manipulatives in relation to preschoolers' development and learning of computational skills. The sample consisted of twenty four 4-and 5-year old children who attended a half-day prekindergarten program five times a week in a university laboratory school in the Midwestern United States. Children participated in small group instruction targeting computational skills. In one class, the teacher provided traditional manipulatives. In the other class, the same teacher provided digital manipulatives in the form of touch tablets with software apps. Both groups of children demonstrated significant increases in correct responses to computation questions on the Test of Early Mathematics Ability-- Third Edition (TEMA3). This practitioner study contributes to current research by using performance based assessment to compare the impact of digital versus traditional manipulatives on young children's computational concepts and skills.