| Description |
Given the persistent focus of the field of special education on providing students with significant cognitive disabilities (SCD) access to the general education curriculum, very little research exists on how to provide this access within general education contexts. Many experts agree that true access to the general curriculum is multifaceted and includes access to general education contexts, teachers, peers, and activities. In addition, there is a lack of research on teaching students with SCD mathematical skills in ways that align with best practice according to mathematics education experts. To address these gap areas, this research study sought to combine mathematics instructional strategies from special education literature (i.e., the concrete-semiconcrete-abstract instructional sequence, explicit and systematic instruction, and embedded instruction) and reconcile it with some of the mathematical practices in the Common Core State Standards (e.g., making sense of problems and solving them, using mathematical models, communicating about their findings). This study used a mixed method design to investigate the impact of a multicomponent mathematics intervention on the mathematical word problem solving, strategy use, and concept acquisition of three elementary-aged students with SCD in general education classrooms. Findings of a single-case multiple probe design indicate that students learned to solve change type word problems using concrete and semiconcrete materials. However, the school year ended before students could master solving the word problems using iv abstract materials. According to qualitative data analysis all three students used both learned and invented strategies to successfully solve the word problems. Lastly, while addition and subtraction were taught simultaneously, all participants demonstrated acquisition of addition before subtraction. This research study demonstrates how embedded instruction can be used to provide students with SCD access to individualized mathematics instruction for a more complex mathematics skill while not interrupting their participation in the routines of the general education classroom. Findings also indicated several implications for practitioners as well as new areas for future research in the area of mathematics instruction for students with SCD. |
