Building up Mathematical Problem Solving of Students with Extensive Support Needs

The purpose of the research plan was to iteratively develop, refine, and evaluate a math problem-solving intervention using single-case experimental and mixed methods designs. During phase 1, the research team developed a full prototype of student and teacher instructional materials, validated a bank of word problems, and developed video-based generalization tasks. A single-case design study was conducted using the initial prototype with three special education teachers and seven middle school students with ESN in a suburban school district. Teacher fidelity and student independence on independent problem-solving tasks were measured. A second single-case experimental study was conducted in a middle school in a rural school district with one teacher and three students with autism. In phase 2, the research team refined the curriculum to address conceptual barriers and manualized the curriculum as Math Scene Investigators (MSI). A total of five special education teachers, one paraprofessional, four high school students, and two researchers implemented MSI in a series of single-case experimental design studies with a total of 21 students with ESN in grades 6-12. These studies took place in rural, suburban, and urban schools and measured fidelity of implementation and student outcomes on independent problem-solving tasks. During phase 3, the research team further revised MSI instructional materials. The final mixed methods pilot of MSI included 4 middle school teachers across 3 public schools and 15 students with ESN. Measures included teacher fidelity, student independence in problem solving on proximal and distal tasks, social validity rating scales, and interviews. A fidelity of implementation tool was developed from coded instructional videos, and an ingredients-based cost analysis estimated the resources required for routine implementation.