The Mathematics Educator 2006, Vol. 9, No. 2, 112-134 Mathematics, Young Students, and Computers: Software, Teaching Strategies and Professional Development 1 Julie Sarama and Douglas H. Clements University at Buffalo, State University of New York Abstract: Technology can make substantial contributions to early childhood mathematics education, if used well (Sarama & Clements, 2002; Seng, 1999). Unfortunately, in the United States, reality often falls short of realizing this promise (Cuban, 2001; Healy, 1998). To be effective, teachers need to select appropriate software and practice successful teaching strategies. To learn to do this, they need to participate in high-quality professional development. Fortunately, research provides guidelines for each of these three areas. In this article, we draw implications from what we have learned from research regarding selecting software, using effective teaching strategies, and providing professional development. We also share concrete examples from two related projects, a software development project and a large- scale research project. Selecting Software for Young Students Young students can use computers and simple software for learning from at least the age of four years on (Clements & Nastasi, 1992; Sarama & Clements, 2002). The nature and extent of technology’s contribution depends largely on what type of technology we use. Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) Students can use CAI, in which the computer presents information or tasks and gives feedback, to develop skills and concepts. For example, drill-and-practice software can help young students develop competence in such skills as counting and sorting (Clements & Nastasi, 1993). Indeed, some reviewers claim that the largest gains in the use of CAI have been in mathematics for preschool (Fletcher-Flinn & Gravatt, 1995) or primary-grade students, especially in compensatory education programs (Lavin & Sanders, 1983; Niemiec & Walberg, 1984; Ragosta, Holland, & Jamison, 1981). About ten minutes a day proved sufficient time for significant 1 This paper was based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ESI-9730804 to D. H. Clements and J. Sarama “Building Blocks—Foundations for Mathematical Thinking, Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 2: Research-based Materials Development” and in part by the Institute of Educational Sciences (U.S. Department of Education, under the Interagency Educational Research Initiative, or IERI, a collaboration of the IES, NSF, and NICHHD) under Grant No. R305K05157 to D. H. Clements, J. Sarama, and J. Lee, “Scaling Up TRIAD: Teaching Early Mathematics for Understanding with Trajectories and Technologies.”