Digital Technology in PK-6 Mathematics Education

Digital Technology in PK-6 Mathematics EducationJust as advances in mathematics research often depended on the methods of calculation available, the effectiveness of mathematics education theories and success of mathematics teaching methods nowadays depend on our knowledge and understanding of how digital technology can support mathematical learning.This issue is the first of a two-part special issue on mathematics education in Computers in the Schools.The second part of the special issue will focus on digital technology in secondary and tertiary mathematics education.This present issue includes four papers from Chile, Israel, South Africa and the United States.It addresses the following key question: How does digital technology allow one to teach mathematics differently at the primary and middle school levels?The papers in this issue all present responses to this question.In Chile, collaborative problem solving is considered being "a tool for improving mathematics learning" (Felmer, 2023, p. 35) and Varas-Paraz and colleagues from Chile, in the first paper in the collection, address this issue in the context of young children using games when working together.In Israel, the policy document "Pedagogical Horizons for Learning" placed a focus on teaching thinking as the cornerstone of learning (Zohar, 2008) and this policy is addressed by Kadan-Tabaja and Yerushalmy, in the second paper, in the context of using technology as a milieu of students' metacognitive development when learning fractions.South African educators consider "that it is beneficial for learners (throughout the school system) to be able to use their home language together with English when discussing mathematical ideas" (Department of Basic Education, 2018, p. 79).This belief is addressed by Saal and colleagues, in the third paper in the collection, in the context of using gamification software typically written in English with students in the schools with Afrikaans as the students' home language.In the United States, efforts to improve PK-6 mathematics education recognize the importance of both teachers and parents in this endeavor (Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences, 2012), enabling a stronger focus on culturally responsive practices.The issue of using digital tools in support of high-level tasks under the teachers' guidance as modern-day mathematical pedagogy (Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, 2017) is addressed by Clements and colleagues in the final paper in the collection, in the context of the United States.The integration of digital technology in elementary mathematics education continues to transform traditional teaching approaches.These advancements leverage interactive tools, gamification, and adaptive learning technologies to address diverse student needs, improve engagement, and enhance conceptual understanding.As digital literacy becomes increasingly critical in society, embedding technology into early mathematics instruction prepares students for a tech-centric world while fostering foundational skills.Moreover, the rise of data-driven education and intelligent systems has the