Mathematics skills are crucial for everyday tasks that enable independence. It’s critical therefore that high school students with autism receive mathematics instruction that prepares them to apply the skills they learn in school to real-world settings.
Generalization of Technology-based Mathematics and Social Skills Instruction for Students with Autism, an OAR-funded, 16-month study, proposes to examine a method that will do just that. Researcher Jenny Root, Ph.D., an assistant professor of special education in the School of Teacher Education at Florida State University, will develop and test a technology-based mathematical and social problem-solving intervention that teaches how, when, and why to apply the mathematics and social skills necessary for independence.
Five students with autism in high school (or between 18 and 21 if they are in a public school transition program) will be recruited to participate in the study. They will be screened to ensure that they have the necessary math skills, can imitate a video model, and complete a novel task after viewing an instructional video. Three typically developing students will be recruited for peer social validity and will be selected based on teacher reports of age-appropriate social skills.
This study will use augmented, reality-based, modified schema-based instruction (MSBI) as a teaching method. MSBI has been effective in building the ability of elementary and middle school students with autism to solve math problems, but has not yet been evaluated for high school students. MSBI focuses on building conceptual understanding of math problems by highlighting important mathematical features and teaching students to use graphic organizers, or schemas, to organize the information needed to solve the problem and generalize the mathematical concepts used across contexts.
Augmented reality is used to overlay digital information such as text, pictures, and video on a problem to be solved. It is used to teach people with autism skills like how to use directions to get to places. It has not yet been evaluated for use in helping them complete math problems.
Participants will learn how to find the total cost when leaving a tip, such as how much a 20 percent tip would be for a $30 haircut and the total cost. The targeted social skills include how to check a receipt for accuracy, what to do if a receipt is inaccurate, and knowing the appropriate percentage to tip depending on the situation.
At each session, participants will select a community location, such as a hair salon or restaurant, from a grid of 15 locations. Each location includes two word problems. Next, they will watch a video that provides context and background information, including the appropriate percentage to tip. They will watch a second video that models how to check a receipt for accuracy and what to do if a receipt is inaccurate. Videos will include both accurate and inaccurate receipts as well as a range of social responses to prepare participants for multiple interactions.
After watching the videos, they will use a worksheet to solve the word problems. An interventionist will assist the students as needed in using the materials, but will not give instruction or feedback related to how to solve the problems.
Once a student has completed the problems, they will watch a video that uses modeling to show completion of the mathematics task in the real world.
In addition, the participants and interventionist will take weekly class trips to community businesses that have agreed to participate. During these visits, an employee will give the students a receipt that may or may not be correct. Each student will check the receipt for accuracy, negotiate with the employee if necessary, and then independently calculate the tip and final cost. Students will have iPods with the task analysis and a calculator to use.
Dr. Root will evaluate math problem solving, measured by the number of math steps completed independently and correctly, and social problem solving, measured by the number of social problem-solving steps completed independently and correctly. To determine social validity, she will collect data from the students’ teachers and parents and the students related to their perceptions of the intervention and whether it achieved its goals. She will use a discrepancy analysis to compare the peers’ behavior to participating students’ behavior as a further measure of social validity.
Dr. Root hopes that the outcomes of this study will provide an example of meaningful math and social skills instruction that is useful in supporting independence and opportunities for individuals to live and work in their communities.
It is critical for students with autism to receive high-quality academic and social skill instruction in order to develop the skills necessary to lead a successful adult life. Teachers of students with autism and their families need effective, efficient, and feasible methods to build social and academic skills that teach them not only what to do, but when and why.
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