RA'ANANA, Israel—The road to understanding math isn't always smooth. Various obstacles and learning challenges can obstruct students' mastery of concepts. Without effective help, struggling students can become anxious or even fearful when facing a math test.

Israeli secondary math teacher Zvika Birenboim specializes in helping students overcome obstacles so that they can make smooth progress. Birenboim reports that technology provides "a multipurpose, sophisticated tool," to help individualize instruction.

Artimetix School-Center for Developing Mathematical Thinking is located in the rural community of Ra'anana. Students in grades seven through twelve receive innovative instruction through multimedia and advanced technology presentations. In a computerized classroom, lessons are projected onto an erasable white board that enables the teacher to combine color, sound, and motion. The use of visual and auditory cues helps unlock understanding, especially for students who struggle with attention deficits, grapho-motor or spatial disabilities, or fear of exams.

Each student takes an entrance exam upon arrival at the innovative school. Birenboim and colleagues use the assessment to develop a personal curriculum for each student that includes group lessons, individual instruction, and lab tutorial sessions. Students can work from home via the school's Web site. They also can join a closed Web-based forum that allows for instruction, discussion, and problem solving.

Birenboim, who specializes in treating learning disabilities, says computers are best used "alongside the teacher, not instead of one. We use the computer as a multipurpose, sophisticated tool, yet the teacher remains the 'hitching post' in the classroom."

Birenboim has seen the benefits this individualized approach can deliver. As the teacher recalls: "Last year, we had a student who had extreme exam anxiety, of which his parents—who had gone through countless tutors—were not aware. After three short sessions, the results were amazing. The student finished the five-unit matriculation exams with a score of 98 percent. It turned out that no one had to teach him math at all."