A group of Bush Elementary School fourth graders were recently engrossed in their iPads, working on math fluency through a grant their teacher, Amy Vezina, recently received from Explore Learning Reflex.

The online, game-based program helps students build fast and effortless recall of math facts. In fourth grade, that means multiplication and division skills.

Vezina applied for and received the grant, which allows 35 students to use the program free of charge. Math fact fluency is the quick and automatic recall of basic math facts. When students achieve automaticity with these facts, they have attained a level of mastery that enables them to retrieve them from long-term memory without conscious effort or attention.

“Research has shown that quick recall of math facts is critical for future success in mathematics,” Vezina said. “More advanced mathematical processes often require students to know a lot of math facts. So, it’s important to master these basic facts before tackling more challenging problems like equivalent fractions, which my students will tackle this year. I thought this grant would be a great way to give students extra practice, which they always need in a fun, but educational, way.”

Students use Reflex for 10-15 minutes during the school day, but a great perk is that students can access the program at home as well. Reflex is structured to provide a short daily assessment of student progress, then coaching on new facts, and finally, fact practice in the games. There are seven games that students can choose from, and they can play as many as they want each day. Students love the game-based, highly motivational learning process.

“I get to learn all my math facts. When I’m older I will have to know math so I can do good in school and my job, so this will help me get better at math. But really, it’s just fun,” said one of Vezina’s students.

Reflex continually monitors student progress and adapts to each student’s individual needs. Vezina can easily monitor and support student progress. The students receive “tokens” as rewards for mastering skills, which they can use in the game’s “store” to purchase fun clothing for their avatar in the game.