Students with mild intellectual disability engaging in proportions word problems

Area of Science:

• Special Education
• Mathematics Education
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Students with mild intellectual disability often face challenges with abstract mathematical concepts.
• Proportions word problems require complex reasoning and problem-solving skills.
• Understanding effective instructional strategies is crucial for supporting these students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the experiences of seventh-grade students with mild intellectual disability in solving mathematics word problems involving proportions.
• To analyze how individualized instruction and specific teaching techniques impact student performance.
• To identify factors contributing to success in challenging mathematical tasks for this student population.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative case study approach was employed.
• Data were collected through observation of student performance in large group and individualized settings.
• Analysis focused on student engagement with proportions word problems and the effectiveness of instructional interventions.

Main Results:

• One student initially struggled but improved significantly when instruction linked new concepts to long-term memory and used visual aids (gestures, diagrams).
• Another student demonstrated relative ease in solving proportions word problems.
• Both participants' experiences suggest that success is attainable with appropriate support.

Conclusions:

• Students with mild intellectual disability can achieve success with challenging mathematical topics like proportions word problems.
• Instructional strategies that leverage prior knowledge and utilize multimodal representations (visuals, gestures) are beneficial.
• Further research can explore a wider range of mathematical concepts and diverse student populations.