Abstract
Derived math fact fluency becomes more imperative across all mathematical content areas during a students’ mathematics development. However, many of them struggle to automate the most basic math facts sufficiently and therefore are not able to deal with more complex mathematical problems. This leads to the fact that many of them are already left behind in the early years of their school careers whether they have diagnosed learning disabilities or not. In this single-case research project, we evaluated a peer-tutoring approach designed to extend the number of automated single-digit addition tasks for four struggling elementary students through a multicomponent motivational system including immediate correction of errors, graphical feedback on performance, positive reinforcement, direct instruction flashcards, and a racetrack game. A multiple-baseline design (ABE) across subjects was applied to assess the effects of the treatment. The results indicate significant and large effects of the intervention on the number of automated math facts for the participants. This substantiates the assumption that the math-fact recall performance of struggling students can be improved through the method of peer tutoring even with the limited resources available in everyday school life.
Highlights
Good basic math skills are essential for both school and personal life
The following inclusion criteria were determined as the basis for this selection: (a) basic understanding of single-digit addition tasks, (b) automation of the single-digit addition tasks of less than
To find students eligible for the study, a class-wide standardized assessment of math operation skills (Heidelberg Math Test 1–4 [HRT 1–4] by Haffner et al.) [52] was applied, different from a non-standardized paper–pen assessment concerning the automation of the single-digit addition tasks with all second- to fourth-grade students
Summary
Good basic math skills are essential for both school and personal life. They are indispensable for succeeding in various subjects (e.g., science, social studies, and math), and we need them to handle many life tasks such as managing our finances. The significance of basic math skills goes beyond the immediately obvious: They help us to develop our logical and critical thinking in general. Analyzing and solving problems would not be possible without this ability. Calculation skills bring order to almost every aspect of life and enable us to orient ourselves in a complex society [1,2,3,4]
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