Aptitude-Treatment-Interaction Effects in Digital Math Learning
Adaptive support in digital math learning is relevant—but students need different things! Image © Shutterstock / Monkey Business Images
I am happy to share our latest article: “Scaffolding of learning activities: Aptitude–treatment–interaction effects in math?” published in Learning and Instruction (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2025.102177).
In this study, we investigated who benefits from which type of scaffold when learning about fractions on the number line in tablet-based classroom instruction.
Key insights:
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Dynamic visualizations, adaptive task difficulty, and individualized explanations supported different learners depending on their cognitive and motivational profiles.
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Especially for lower-achieving students, scaffolds compensated for lower prior knowledge, reasoning ability, or spatial ability, showing that adaptivity can be achieved through carefully designed instructional features.
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The findings point to a layered scaffolding approach (combining cognitive and motivational supports) to make digital math learning environments more effective for diverse learners.
A big thank you to Sarah Hofer for leading this exciting project and for an inspiring collaboration!
