Examining Virtual Manipulatives for Teaching Computations With Fractions to Children With Mathematics Difficulty

Area of Science:

• Educational Technology
• Special Education
• Mathematics Education

Background:

• Digital technology is increasingly used in K-12 education to support mathematics learning.
• Virtual manipulatives offer diverse representations of mathematical concepts, but research on their effectiveness, especially for young children with math difficulties, is limited.
• Students with mathematics learning disabilities often struggle with foundational skills like fractions, impacting future academic success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the effectiveness of virtual manipulatives paired with explicit instruction and least prompts for teaching fraction computations.
• To investigate the impact of this intervention on elementary students identified with mathematics difficulty.

Main Methods:

• A single-subject multiple probe design was employed.
• The study involved three elementary students with mathematics difficulty.
• The intervention combined virtual manipulatives, explicit instruction, and a system of least prompts.

Main Results:

• A functional relation was established between the intervention and students' accuracy in solving fraction computation problems.
• Students demonstrated improved performance in fraction computations following the treatment.

Conclusions:

• Virtual manipulatives, when integrated with explicit instruction and prompting, can be an effective tool for teaching fraction computations to students with mathematics difficulty.
• The findings suggest positive implications for using virtual manipulatives in special education and mathematics intervention settings.