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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare two methods of teaching an initial place value skill: a concrete, semiconcrete, abstract teaching sequence and an abstract-only presentation. Measures across time (i.e., posttest, maintenance, and retention) and generalization were included. The subjects in this investigation were learning disabled elementary and middle school students who were assigned randomly to the experimental and control groups. A 2 x 3 mixed design with one between (treatment) and one within (performance over time) group factor was used. A multivariate analysis of variance was computed to determine whether there were differences among the levels of the experimental treatments. Significant overall findings were followed by two univariate analyses of variance. 4 significant main effect for the treatment variable was found on the acquisition measure. No significant difference was found on the generalization measure. Students who were taught place value using the concrete to abstract teaching sequence performed significantly better on three posttest measures than students who were taught the same skill abstractly.

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Teaching Learning Disabled StudentsPlace Value Using the Concrete toAbstract Sequence

Abstract

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