Effects of Two Interventions on Solving Basic Fact Problems by Second Graders With Mathematics Learning Disabilities

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Emerging evidence has indicated that students with MLD have weak number sense, and interventions that facilitate stu- dents’ number sense may lead to the development of more efficient counting strategies. This study examined whether a number sense intervention can indeed assist students’ strategy development when solving basic facts. In addition, because the goal for basic fact instruction is to promote fact retrieval, the study also examined the effects of both number sense and extensive practice interventions on students’ fact retrieval performance. The findings of this study indicate that extensive practice can improve students’ fact retrieval performance. At the same time, the study findings also draw attention to the importance of providing number sense lessons for students with MLD. Although lessons aimed at facilitating students’ number sense development did not significantly improve the frequency with which the students used retrieval-based strategy, they supported students’ development of more efficient counting strategies.

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