Poster #48 - Measuring Success: How 6th Graders with Math Learning Disabilities Can Learn to Read Rulers

• In Event: Poster Session 09

Abstract

Research has shown that many students entering sixth grade struggle with fractions, even after years of instruction on the topic (Resnick et al., 2016). One aspect of fraction learning that is basic and important, yet often not grasped by students, is the use of a ruler (Levine et al., 2009). Measuring with a ruler is essential for many jobs and useful in everyday life. Previous research has not studied the effectiveness of interventions for this math concept with middle school students with math learning difficulties (MLD). According to our pretest, students with MLD in sixth grade do not have the basic skill of measurement, and this seems to be overlooked in math instruction. Using a ruler can also provide a practical context for understanding fractions on a number line, an important concept for success in algebra.
As part of an intervention, which included instruction on number lines, measurement, and fraction arithmetic, students were taught to read a ruler. Sixth grade math intervention classrooms (n=6) were randomly assigned to either the experimental (n = 3) or control condition (n = 3). In the experimental condition, teachers administered the fraction intervention in their normal classroom setting. All students in the experimental classrooms participated in the intervention (n = 23). The intervention occurred over the span of 12 weeks (24 lessons). The students in the business as usual (BAU) control condition received their regular mathematics intervention. At posttest, the intervention group performed statistically significantly better than the control group on a measure of overall fraction knowledge.
As part of the overall fraction knowledge assessment, a pretest and posttest measuring students’ ability to read a four-inch ruler with wholes, halves, fourths, and eighths marks was administered. The assessment was designed to assess the following three components: finding the whole number, determining the size of the partitions (i.e., eighths, fourths, halves), and counting the partitions. Pretest data revealed that children performed poorly on this task. When analyzed quantitatively at the student level, the experimental group demonstrated significantly better performance than the control group from pretest to posttest with a large effect size (g = 2.95). In fact, the control students did not answer any problem correctly at posttest. However, because students were clustered within six classrooms, more data must be collected to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. The current experiment is on-going and will conclude after more classrooms have been evaluated.
Qualitative analyses revealed interesting patterns in students’ errors (see Figures 1 and 2). Students’ lacked the understanding of how to use whole numbers in fractions to identify the correct measurement. These findings suggest that students who struggle with fractions can make large gains in learning to use and read a ruler after participating in a fractions intervention. Since a ruler is much like a number line, this knowledge can support students in understanding fractions as numbers, preparing them for more advanced mathematics. Knowing how to use a ruler as a measuring tool is also an important skill for possible future occupations, and daily activities.

Authors

• Megan Botello, University of Delaware
  Presenting Author

• Taylor Paige Guba, University of Delaware

• Nancy Dyson, University of Delaware

• Nancy C Jordan, University of Delaware