User talk:Alastairdobbie/Reward-based learning in mathematics

With the growth of the internet, we can expect a growth in reward-based online systems for learning Mathematics.

Such systems are scaled internet-based systems which, in theory, require little or no human intervention beyond the points of maintenance and creation.

The concept behind a reward-based system is the scientific notion of operant conditioning, which states that the brain will adapt itself to achieve a process if there is an end goal which it finds rewarding. First clearly demonstrated with cats who changed their brainwaves in order to win a reward of chicken soup mixed with milk, it can be applied to students.

By offering incentives that stimulate the student, such systems should encourage neuronal growth and learning in the direction of the desired learning outcome.

Mathematics lends itself naturally to an online system as it is both linear and hierarchical, with very little variation in syllabuses across the world. This means, in practical terms, that a child in China and a child in India can progress in a linear way up a pyramid-style maths syllabus with little difference caused by local cultural or curriculum-based interference.