Home Products Software Digital teaching aids Prowise Learn Prowise Learn: Research

Prowise Learn: Research

Quality education thanks to in-depth research.

More about Learn

Education and research reinforce each other

When developing our products, we are constantly inspired by new insights from science. We also use the – anonymous – player data from our products for research. This way, we improve our knowledge of how children learn and of our adaptive measurement system. 

 

The scientists helping us improve Prowise Learn even further tell us about their vision and contribution below.  

Researchers from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Prof. Dr. Han van der Maas

As a professor of Psychological Methodology at the University of Amsterdam, I am closely involved in research. I oversee the progress and quality of current research directions while establishing new ones. My focus extends to all aspects of the adaptive learning environment. This involves maintaining and optimizing the adaptive system, as well as studying crucial issues related to children’s cognitive development.

Dr. Claire Stevenson

I am a researcher at the University of Amsterdam (Psychology department), collaborating with Prowise Learn to better understand the development of intelligence and creativity, as well as how to best measure learning. The insights gained from this collaboration not only enhance our understanding of the ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’ aspects of intelligence and creativity, but also enable us to create new engaging games that foster both creativity and cognitive development.

Dr. Abe Hofman

I am conducting research on the development of children’s mathematical and cognitive skills. Initially, we are studying how to measure children’s abilities in order to answer questions about their development. For instance, we are exploring whether there is a relationship between the development of various games within Rekentuin.

Dr. Brenda Jansen

At the very beginning of Rekentuin, I contributed to designing the math problems in the games. Now, I’m researching children’s arithmetic strategies and aiming to understand how we can motivate children to practice math.

Drs. Sharon Klinkenberg

As a doctoral candidate, I collaborated with Marthe to create the initial version of Rekentuin. My research focused on proving the representativeness of the scores children achieve in Rekentuin for their mathematical abilities.

Prof. Dr. Maartje Raijmakers

As a professor of Educational Sciences at the VU and Cognitive Developmental Psychology at the UvA, I’m highly interested in the advancements within Prowise Learn that could offer a deeper understanding of children’s learning processes. I’m closely involved in research aimed at providing us with better insights into children’s individual differences. We’re developing methods and techniques to gain a clearer understanding of the conceptual insights children develop during training.

Dr. Alexander Savi

As a researcher at VU Amsterdam in the field of educational sciences, with a background in psychological and methodological research, I collaborate on various projects with Prowise Learn. The key questions in this collaboration revolve around understanding misconceptions of students based on their responses, assessing the effectiveness of educational interventions, and evaluating individual differences among students in the impact of these interventions.

Other collaborations

Dr. Gunter Maris

I am primarily focused on the functioning of the adaptive system. In my research, I study and optimise the psychometric models that enable adaptivity. I explore how children’s efforts can be best rewarded by maximising their learning gains.

Dr. Alexander Krepel

For my doctoral research at the University of Amsterdam, I’m exploring how high school students learn English. I’m investigating the relationship between practicing in Words&Birds and the development of English vocabulary, spelling, and reading skills. Additionally, I’ve contributed to the development and enhancement of games in Words&Birds to facilitate the learning of word pronunciation.

Dr. Marco van de Ven

As a postdoctoral researcher at Radboud University, I’m involved in the ongoing development and validation of Words&Birds. Additionally, I utilize learning analytics to gain a deeper understanding of the processes involved in second language learning. Together with Prowise Learn and Earlybird, Alexander, Evelien, and Marco, we’ve developed new materials for Words&Birds based on experiments. Furthermore, in 2017, we conducted a large-scale intervention study using Words&Birds.

Dr. Elise de Bree

At Radboud University Nijmegen, I conduct research on language, reading, and spelling development using data from Taalzee and Words&Birds. This ecologically valid method of data collection provides us with valuable insights into how children and teenagers learn to read and spell, as well as how they expand their vocabulary.

Dr. Evelien Mulder

As a PhD candidate at Radboud University, I am conducting research on how first-year secondary school students progress from reading individual words to comprehending texts in English.

Researchers from Utrecht University, the Netherlands

Dr. Matthieu Brinkhuis

I’m researching various algorithms to effectively track players’ learning progress. Additionally, I utilize Rekentuin data to analyze how the difficulty of questions, such as multiplication tables, changes over time. With this information, we aim to help players practice more efficiently.

Dr. Sergey Sosnovsky

I am an assistant professor of Software Technology for Education and Learning at the Department of Information and Computer Sciences at Utrecht University. My research interests encompass various aspects of designing, developing, and evaluating adaptive educational systems and personalized information systems in general.
Kind werkt op laptop met Learn Rekentuin

Publications

Publications about Prowise Learn. 

Brinkhuis, M. J., Savi, A. O., Hofman, A. D., Coomans, F., van der Maas, H. L., & Maris, G. (2018)
Learning as it happens: A decade of analyzing and shaping a large-scale online learning system.
Journal of Learning Analytics, 5(2), 29-46.

 

Hofman, A., Kievit, R., Stevenson, C., Molenaar, D., Visser, I., & van der Maas, H. (2018)
The dynamics of the development of mathematics skills: A comparison of theories of developing intelligence.

 

Savi, A. O., van der Maas, H. L. J., & Maris, G. K. J. (2015)

Navigating massive open online courses.
Science, 347 (6225), 958.

Dissertations

Dissertations on Prowise Learn. 

Savi A. O. (2019),
Towards an idiographic education

 

Hofman, A. D. (2018)
Psychometric analyses of computer adaptive practice data: A new window on cognitive development.

 

Straatemeier, M. (2014, April 25)
Math Garden: a new educational and scientific instrument
(Doctoral dissertation, University of Amsterdam).

 

Kind speelt Prowise Learn Taalzee oefenstof Kind speelt Prowise Learn Taalzee oefenstof

Research papers

Research papers about Prowise Learn. 

Hofman, A. D., Visser, I., Jansen, B. R., Marsman, M., & van der Maas, H. L. (2018)
Fast and slow strategies in multiplication.
Learning and Individual Differences, 68, 30-40.

 

Savi, A. O., Deonovic, B., Bolsinova, M., van der Maas, H., & Maris, G. (2018)
Automated Diagnosis of Misconceptions in Single Digit Multiplication. Tracing Systematic Errors to Personalize Recommendations in Single Digit Multiplication and Beyond.
PsyArXiv. July, 31.

 

Savi, A. O., Ruijs, N. M., Maris, G. K., & van der Maas, H. L. (2018)
Delaying access to a problem-skipping option increases effortful practice: Application of an A/B test in large-scale online learning.
Computers & Education, 119, 84-94.