The effectiveness of TouchMath technique in teaching problem solving skills to students with intellectual disability

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the TouchMath technique in teaching problem-solving skills to students with intellectual disability. In addition, the generalization effect of the instruction delivered through this technique to different settings and materials and the maintenance effect of the instruction after 10 and 20 days were investigated. This study adopted multiple probe across participants which is one of the single case research approaches. The dependent variable of the study is the level of students with intellectual disability in solving problems involving the additions, whereas the independent variable is the instruction delivered through the TouchMath technique. The research was conducted with three students aged between 11 and 12 who were diagnosed with intellectual disability. The collected data were analysed through visual analysis. The results revealed that the TouchMath technique was effective in teaching problem solving skills to the participating students. Moreover, it was found that students were able to maintain these skills 10 and 20 days after the end of the instruction as well as they could generalise this skill to other instructional settings and materials. Keywords: Special education, intellectual disability, TouchMath technique, problem-solving skill, math instruction.