The Effect of Eliciting Repair of Mathematics Explanations of Students With Learning Disabilities

• Published in: Learning disability quarterly Vol. 40; no. 3; pp. 132 - 145
• Main Authors: Liu, Jia, Xin, Yan Ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Hammill Institute on Disabilities and SAGE Publications 01.08.2017; SAGE Publications; SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Barriers; Children; Classroom Communication; Communication Strategies; Conversation; Educational Change; Elementary School Students; Grade 4; Intelligence Tests; Intervention; Learning Disabilities; Mathematical Concepts; Mathematical Logic; Mathematics; Mathematics Education; Mathematics Instruction; Mathematics Tests; Pretests Posttests; Problem Solving; Program Effectiveness; Reasoning; Repair; Special Series Articles; Student Improvement; Students; Word Problems (Mathematics); conversational repair; learning disabilities; self-explanation; mathematical reasoning; mathematics word problems
• ISSN: 0731-9487; 2168-376X
• DOI: 10.1177/0731948716657496

Mathematical reasoning is important in conceptual understanding and problem solving. In current reform-based, discourseoriented mathematics classrooms, students with learning disabilities (LD) encounter challenges articulating or explaining their reasoning processes. Enlightened by the concept of conversational repair borrowed from the field of linguistics, this study designed an intervention program to facilitate mathematical reasoning of students with LD. Conversational repair, an ability to repair communicative breakdowns or inaccuracies, was designed in an implicit-explicit continuum to elicit selfexplanation from students with LD in the context of mathematics word problem solving. Using a multiple-baseline across participants design, the study found that the intervention was effective for improving students' mathematical reasoning and problem-solving ability measured by their self-explanation and word problem-solving performance. It provided implications for future studies concerning the use of conversational repair in mathematics classroom discourse for individuals with LD.