NumberShire receives $4 million funding from the US Department of Education, IES-NCSER

The NumberShire™ project, an online educational mathematics game, has received federal funding from the Institute of Education Sciences' National Center for Special Education Research (IES-NCSER). The IES supports advancing the understanding of and research practices for teaching, learning, and organizing education systems. It provides research grants to projects that provide insight into the challenges facing special education and explore possible solutions.

NumberShire is an educational game with an intensive focus on critical whole number concepts developed by a team of researchers, educators, and engineers. While it is intended for all students, the game is aimed at students in kindergarten through second grade, especially those at risk for mathematics difficulties. Dr. Sam Choo, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology's special education program, who has an interest in educational games such as NumberShire, has represented the game at multiple academic events.

The University of Minnesota will partner with Boston University, University of Oregon, and Oregon Institute for the IES-funded, randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of the NumberShire Level K gaming intervention for improving math outcomes for students with or at risk for mathematics learning disabilities. In this trial, the investigators intend to explore the effects of NumberShire Level K intervention on early math achievement and students' behavioral self-regulation, self-efficacy in mathematics, demographic characteristics, MLD status, and English proficiency levels as well as the effect of various classroom-level factors.