Date of Award

8-28-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2026

Department

Computer Science and Engineering

First Advisor

Silvia Figueira

Abstract

For children from bilingual households, kindergarten can represent both an introduction to formal mathematics education and a period of increased exposure to the English language. Students may therefore be learning foundational mathematical concepts while simultaneously developing the English vocabulary used to describe those concepts. BiKi (Bilingual Math for Kindergartners) was developed to help bridge this gap through an educational application that combines visual, auditory, and interactive learning activities to reinforce mathematical vocabulary in both English and a student’s home language.

This work builds upon the existing BiKi application while maintaining its original educational goals and intended audience. The primary focus of this iteration was a comprehensive redesign of the application’s user interface and learning activities to better accommodate kindergarten-aged users. Because young children have developing literacy, motor, and navigation skills, an educational application designed for this population must minimize unnecessary text and complex interactions while providing clear visual and auditory guidance. The redesign therefore emphasizes consistent layouts, large and recognizable interactive elements, simplified navigation, automatic and replayable audio, visual representations of concepts, and immediate feedback throughout the application. In addition to redesigning the overall interface, existing learning activities were restructured to create more consistent and intuitive interactions, and new activity formats were incorporated to provide additional opportunities for practice. The application continues to support bilingual learning while presenting content through interfaces intended to require less reading and less adult assistance. Through this redesign, BiKi seeks to provide appropriate educational content while also ensuring that the method through which that content is delivered is appropriate for the developmental needs of its users. This work demonstrates the importance of treating usability and age-appropriate interaction design as fundamental components of educational technology for young learners.

Download

Share

COinS