Conservation and Mathematics Achievement in the Learning Disabled Child

Abstract

This study investigated the development of the cognitive stage of concrete operations, specifically conservation, in learning disabled children who had significant deficits in mathematics achievement.

Twenty-two 9-12 year old learning disabled children with severe mathematics disabilities, and eighteen normal control students with average achievement in mathematics, were given six tests of conservation. Significant group differences appeared which indicated that many learning disabled children have not yet developed the concept of conservation, even in the upper elementary grades. This lag in cognitive development may constrict the ability to understand mathematics instruction as it is often taught today.

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