MELBORP (Math Drill and Practice)

Research and teacher "good common sense" have shown that retention and mastering of math concepts is improved by drill and practice. Classroom drill and practice has its share of problems however—students become bored; teachers become overloaded trying to prepare and correct worksheets day after day. Microcomputers can be a highly useful tool in the classroom with hearing-impaired students to overcome these problems. The drill and practice can be highly motivating with immediate feedback to catch mistakes and correct them on the spot. The drill can be individualized so each student can receive practice in skills he or she needs and for varying amounts of time. With record-keeping capabilities of the microcomputer, the teacher can keep track of student progress without having to correct the papers!

The Regional Instructional Computer Center at BOCES #2 has written a microcomputer courseware package designed to provide math drill and practice to students; it has proven to be highly motivating for students and easy to use by teachers. The program, called MELBORP, allows the student to either practice by himself/herself, compete against another student, or compete against the computer (MELBORP). The teacher assigns the math objectives to be practiced ranging from whole number concepts, fractions to decimals. Skills are broken down into skill areas and levels corresponding to the New York State math curriculum. Problems are presented to the student, and if the student answers correctly, he or she can play a very short color animated game. The student also has control of the game to play; games are interactive and nonviolent such as hang gliding and parachute jumping. Teachers can see student scores and progress. MELBORP is currently in use in special education and regular classrooms in our area. It is designed to work in a 2 drive APPLE II 48K computer. At the Lincoln Symposium, the educational considerations will be discussed along with a demonstration of the math problems, feedback, and teacher management components.