Challenging the Routines and Passivity That Characterize Arithmetic Instruction for Children with Mild Handicaps

Abstract

This article challenges the notion that rote practice in arithmetic computation should be the focus of instruction for children with mild handicaps in mathematics. Students were presented with worksheets containing two sample computation items and explored the characteristics of each item with the examiner. Students were then instructed to create items like the ones in the sample and answer them. Emphasis was on student production based on an understanding of the structure of the computation items. The performance of approximately 30 normally achieving students in Grades 3 through 6 was compared with that of grade-matched peers with mild handicaps. The results of the study indicate that students with mild handicaps are capable of understanding the characteristics of items well enough to create like items, though averaging 3 years behind their normally achieving peers. Of the items created by students in both groups, high percentages correct were evident. Neither normally achieving students nor students with mild handicaps engaged in mechanical repetition of items. A sample instructional activity is described at the end of the article.