The Taped-Problems Intervention: Increasing Multiplication Fact Fluency Using a Low-Tech, Classwide, Time-Delay Intervention

Abstract

A multiple-probes-across-tasks design was used to evaluate the effects of a taped-problems intervention on the multiplication fact fluency of 18 students from an intact general education third-grade classroom. During the classwide taped-problems intervention, students were given lists of problems and instructed to attempt to complete each problem before an audiotape player provided the correct answer. Varying time-delay procedures were used as the intervals between problem and answer presentations were adjusted. Initially, there was a brief time delay between problems and answers. Delays were adjusted in order to promote quick, independent responding. Across all three sets of problems, results showed immediate and sustained increases in multiplication fact fluency after the intervention was applied. Discussion focuses on future research related to the tapedproblems intervention and the need for the development and empirical validation of effective, efficient, and acceptable classwide interventions.