BIO

Amanda Ravins is a Sophomore at Florida State University, and she is currently double majoring in Psychology and Spanish. She is interested in research in the area of Special Education and is currently a part of FSU’s Undergraduate Research Program. She plans to receive her Master’s degree in Special Education, and her goal is to have a career in Elementary Special Education and to complete research in this area in the future.

Peer-Mediated Modified Schema Based Instruction Targeting Mathematical Problem Solving for Students with Extensive Support Needs

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate peer-mediated modified schema based instruction (MSBI) on the mathematical word problem solving of secondary-aged students with extensive support needs (i.e., autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, multiple disability). In this QUAN-qual mixed methods single case research (MMSCR) design, participants include five peer mentees with ESN and four peer mentors without disabilities across four phases (i.e., baseline, intervention, generalization, and maintenance). This study is evaluating the independent variable of MSBI on three dependent variables including: critical steps completed independently correct, number of word problems solved independently correct, and total number of steps completed independently correct. The research team is using a multiple-probe across participants design for their quantitative analysis and descriptive statistics, thematic analysis, and triangulation of multiple sources for their qualitative analysis. The research team is conducting this MMSCR to add “narrative flesh on the bones of experimental and statistical analysis” to support replication and generalization (Onghena et al., 2019). By doing this, they are evaluating the casual relationship between the independent and dependent variables as well as conducting in-depth investigation of the practical significance of the intervention (Kazdin, 1999; Perdices et al, 2009) as well as the perceived feasibility, appropriateness, and meaningfulness of the intervention (Onghena et al., 2019). Their results are consistent with previous MSBI research and currently represent a functional relation between the intervention and the primary dependent variable. This study is ongoing. Thus, further reports of limitations, generalization, and maintenance data will be disclosed in the future.

Keywords: Peer-Mediated, Mathematics, Extensive Support Needs