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

Abstract

Rate of change (i.e., slope) is a critical mathematics concept for success in everyday life, academics, and professional careers. Students with or at risk of learning disabilities struggle with solving rate-of-change problems, especially word problems. Interventions that incorporate representations and problem-solving strategies are effective for improving the word problem-solving performance of students with disabilities. This multiple-probe, multiple-baseline, single-case design study evaluated the effects of an intervention that included an integrated, concrete-representational-abstract teaching framework with an embedded problem-solving strategy (POD Check) on students’ rate-of-change word problem-solving performance. The intervention was delivered virtually via video conferencing technology. Four middle- and high-school students with or at risk of mathematics learning disabilities in the U.S. Intermountain West region participated in the intervention. Results indicate evidence of a functional relation between the intervention and students’ word problem-solving performance, and effects were maintained 2–4 weeks after the intervention. The findings of this study provide implications for mathematics intervention research and practice for students with learning disabilities.