Addressing learning loss through mathematical web app: insights from the user behaviour

Abstract

This paper presents some results of the MaTEs project, which aims to address summer learning loss in mathematics through a web-based app designed for pupils and their families. The study conceptualizes learning as a situated and mediated process extending beyond school contexts. The web-app offers narrative-based problem-solving activities supported by adult mediation, integrating cognitive, metacognitive, and affective dimensions. Using log data from 315 users, the study adopts a quantitative approach based on Time Series K means clustering to identify patterns of behaviour over the summer period. Four distinct profiles emerge in terms of completion, continuity, and temporal distribution of activity. Findings highlight a general tendency toward non-uniform use, with activity concentrated at the end of the summer. Notably, no significant differences are found across profiles in metacognitive reflections, suggesting a decoupling between usage and perceived experience. The study sheds light on heterogeneous attitudes towards the summer homework and raises critical questions about how continuity, rather than intensity alone, supports meaningful mathematical learning beyond the classroom.