The Effectiveness of the Activity Package Based on Direct Instruction Method in Developing the Number Sense of Children with Intellectual Disabilities

OpenAlex İngilizce

Introduction: One of the important concepts in counting and calculation skills and forming the basis of these skills is the concept of number sense. Number sense is defined as the fluent and flexible use of numbers while solving problems involving numerical concepts. Number sense, which is one of the basic skills of mathematics, plays an important role in the acquisition of advanced mathematical skills. When the studies on number sense in Turkiye were examined, it was determined that the studies mostly focused on determining the number sense levels of students and were conducted with individuals with typical development. The purpose of this research is to examine the effectiveness of the activity package based on the direct instruction method in developing the number sense of children with intellectual disabilities.Method: In this study, the effectiveness of the activity package based on the direct instruction method in developing and maintaining the sense of number of three participants aged 8-12 with mild intellectual disability was examined. It was also examined whether the participants could generalize their acquired skills to Panamath practice. In the study, a multiple probe design with probe conditions across participants, which is one of the single-subject research models, was used.Findings: The findings showed that all participants developed their sense of number and were able to maintain this skill. Also, it showed that individuals from different age groups could generalize to Panamath, a software used to determine number sense. The social validity findings collected from the teachers of the participants also showed that number sense is an important skill for the participants. In addition, the teachers stated that the participants used their number sense skills in their daily lives as well.Discussion: The findings of the study were consistent with the results of the studies in the literature examining the effectiveness of the direct instruction method in teaching mathematics skills to students with special needs. The obtained results were discussed by comparing them with similar studies.