The goal of neurodactics is to provide digital support for children in first and second grade in mental arithmetic and quantity comprehension. The project, which emerged from research on inclusive digital learning applications at the Faculty of Education, has now received approval for a one-year EXIST start-up grant. The team of Torben Rieckmann, Christopher Hof and Jonas Vierth is supported by Nadine Weitendorf from the University of Hamburg and Dr. Bettina Otto from the University of Hamburg’s start-up service and beyourpilot.
Not only the Corona pandemic has shown that digital learning applications are also becoming more important in school lessons. The founders of neurodactics now want to develop an inclusive maths app that enables tailored learning in and in addition to the classroom. The app will initially be designed for first and second grade pupils. The idea came from Torben Rieckmann, a research assistant at the Faculty of Education, who is conducting research on learning support for children with trisomy 21.
Rieckmann has already received several awards for the “mathildr” system, which introduces pupils to the number range from 0 to 20 with a special representation of quantities. The app that is now to be developed is intended to give children an understanding of quantities and to encourage them in mental arithmetic. It is designed to be inclusive, i.e. it is aimed at all children, regardless of whether they have dyscalculia, giftedness or disabilities. The EXIST project neurodactics is being implemented by Rieckmann together with Christopher Hof (computer science) and Jonas Vierth (economics). Starting in March, the interdisciplinary team will further develop their idea with the support of the University of Hamburg’s start-up service and “beyourpilot” and turn it into a start-up. They will receive additional expert support from Prof. Dr. André Zimpel from the University of Hamburg, who is available as a mentor.
“We are delighted about this research-based start-up project,” says the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Prof. Dr Eva Arnold. “It shows that start-ups are also part of the field of educational science transfer and that concrete solutions for current challenges in the field of digital learning are developing out of research.”
The EXIST start-up scholarship from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (co-financed by the European Social Fund ESF) is a twelve-month scholarship that supports students, graduates and scientists from universities and non-university research institutions who are interested in starting a business. On the part of the University of Hamburg, teams are accompanied by Nadine Weitendorf and Dr. Bettina Otto from the University of Hamburg’s start-up service and “beyourpilot”. “beyourpilot” is the platform of Hamburg’s universities and research institutes that promotes start-up culture in the scientific sector across institutions.
