Does Disability Matter in Multiplication? A Critical Analysis of Current Mathematics Research

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Humanizing Mathematics Education for Students With Dis/Abilities

Abstract

This presentation reports on a study that closely analyzed 43 articles published between 2013-2017 that focused on multiplication, comparing research that included students with disabilities to research that did not. Research on the topic of multiplication that included disability was predominately focused on procedural memorization (52%), more so than research on multiplication that did not include disability (13%). Students without disabilities were studied qualitatively, with detailed analysis of student thinking, while students with disabilities were predominately understood through quantitative methods. None of the studies that included disability were situated in actual classrooms. As advocates for inclusive mathematics education, we call for research that positions students with disabilities as thinkers, and that document students with disabilities learning within their mathematics classrooms.

Authors

• Rachel Lambert, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Paulo Tan, Johns Hopkins University