Using the Virtual–Representational–Abstract With Overlearning Instructional Sequence to Students With Disabilities in Mathematics

Abstract

While mathematics education is key to the post-school outcomes of students with disabilities, it has received less attention in research and practice compared with other aspects of educating this population. Skill maintenance is particularly crucial in mathematics because students build upon prior knowledge across grade levels. They also need to be able to apply mathematical skills in everyday life. Hence, this study utilized a multiple probe across-participants single-case experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of the virtual–representational–abstract (VRA) with overlearning instructional sequence in teaching multiplication and supporting its maintenance among three students with disabilities. For each student, a functional relation existed between the VRA with overlearning instructional sequence and accuracy of solving multiplication problems. Students also maintained the skill up to 8 weeks after the intervention.

Online Delivery of a Manipulative-Based Intervention Package for Finding Equivalent Fractions

“…However, in some studies, students struggled to maintain (Bouck et al, 2018a(Bouck et al, , 2020a. As such, researchers created intervention packages with the virtual manipulative-based instructional sequences, such as adding fading, overlearning, or the system of least prompts to the instructional sequence (Bouck et al, 2020c;Park et al, 2020aPark et al, , 2020b. In other studies, researchers implemented abstract boost sessions, in which another instructional session with the abstract-or numerical strategies-phase was implemented prior to re-evaluating for maintenance (e.g., Bouck et al, 2020b).…”

Effects of Interventions Using Virtual Manipulatives for Students With Learning Disabilities: A Synthesis of Single-Case Research

“…The other six students with LD had not indicated Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals in mathematics, but they showed low achievement on standardized mathematics assessment. To be specific, three of these six students scored below the 30th percentile on the mathematics problem-solving subtest of the Stanford Achievement Test (Xin et al, 2020), one scored in the 5th percentile on the problem-solving subtest of KeyMath (Reneau, 2013), one was a sixth-grade student who scored the equivalency of a 2.5-grade level (Park et al, 2021), and the other student scored in the second percentile on the Northwest Evaluation Association standardized assessment (Simsek, 2016).…”

“…Specifically, students attempt to solve mathematics problems by manipulating digital objects during the virtual phase and then transferring those mathematics problems to pictorial representations (e.g., drawings) during the representational phase. Finally, students solve the problems without using virtual manipulatives or drawing pictures (Bouck, Bassette, et al, 2017; Park et al, 2021).…”

Manipulative-Based Instructional Sequences in Mathematics for Students With Disabilities

“…systematic decrease of supports; Shurr et al, 2019). Research on manipulativebased instructional sequences in which overlearning or fading was included demonstrated strong maintenance effects multiple weeks after the intervention ended (Bouck, Shurr, et al, 2020;Park et al, 2020Park et al, , 2021. Teaching for maintenance-as opposed to just acquisition-requires additional time.…”