Teaching Constant Rate-of-Change Problem-Solving to Secondary Students With or at Risk of Learning Disabilities

Area of Science:

• Mathematics Education
• Special Education

Background:

• Rate of change is a crucial mathematical concept.
• Students with or at risk of learning disabilities face challenges with rate-of-change word problems.
• Effective interventions often integrate representations and problem-solving strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate an intervention using a concrete-representational-abstract (CRA) framework and a problem-solving strategy (POD Check).
• To assess the intervention's impact on rate-of-change word problem-solving performance in students with mathematics learning disabilities.
• To determine if the intervention effects were maintained post-instruction.

Main Methods:

• A multiple-probe, multiple-baseline, single-case design was employed.
• The intervention combined a CRA teaching framework with the POD Check strategy.
• The study involved four middle and high school students with or at risk of mathematics learning disabilities, delivered virtually.

Main Results:

• The intervention demonstrated a functional relation to improvements in students' rate-of-change word problem-solving.
• Student performance on word problems significantly increased following the intervention.
• The positive effects on problem-solving were maintained for 2-4 weeks after the intervention ended.

Conclusions:

• The integrated CRA and POD Check intervention is effective for improving rate-of-change word problem-solving for students with learning disabilities.
• Virtual delivery of mathematics interventions is feasible and effective.
• Findings support the integration of representational teaching and explicit problem-solving strategies in mathematics interventions for students with learning disabilities.