An intervention study for fifth-grade students experiencing mathematical difficulties

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of an intervention plan designed to improve the mathematical competencies of fifth-grade students diagnosed with specific learning disabilities. The study was conducted using an experimental intervention design, one of the mixed-method research approaches, and focused on the domain of fractions. The implementation took place between March and May 2024 in a public school in Antalya, Turkey, with two male students diagnosed with specific learning disabilities. The instructional activities offered to the students aimed to develop various mathematical skills, including: representing and ordering unit fractions on a number line; converting mixed numbers to improper fractions and vice versa; comparing a natural number with an improper fraction; understanding that simplification and expansion do not change the value of a fraction and creating equivalent fractions; ordering fractions with equal numerators or denominators; calculating the simple fraction of a given quantity and finding the whole given a simple fraction of it by using unit fractions; performing and interpreting addition and subtraction operations with two fractions having equal denominators or where one denominator is a multiple of the other; and solving and formulating problems involving such fractions. In this method, which employed the experimental intervention design of mixed-method research, both quantitative and qualitative research techniques were used. In the quantitative part of the study, a mathematics pre-test was administered; in the qualitative part, observation forms, student work samples, lesson recordings, performance records, student and researcher journals, and semi-structured interviews were utilized. Additionally, to determine participants' prerequisite skills, a mathematics test consisting of 20 questions targeting the specified learning outcomes was administered. The first participant answered 4 questions correctly, 4 incorrectly, and left 12 unanswered. The second participant did not answer any question correctly. According to the pre-test results, the first participant's success rate was 20%, while the second participant showed no success. The intervention plan for both students was implemented in their own schools, outside regular class hours, three days a week, one class period per day. The implementation lasted a total of eight weeks and consisted of 24 class periods. Data collection and analysis were carried out simultaneously, and the obtained data were analyzed systematically. At the end of the implementation, the first participant achieved a success rate of 66.6%, while the second participant achieved 45.8%. The findings indicate that the intervention plans positively contributed to students' mathematical thinking skills, operational proficiency, and problem-solving abilities. In addition, an improvement in students' attitudes toward mathematics and their self-confidence was observed. This study offers important implications for educators, practitioners, and researchers working with students with specific learning disabilities. It concludes that individualized teaching methods can play a significant role in supporting the mathematical development of students with specific learning disabilities. Keywords: Specific Learning Disability, Fractions, Experimental Intervention Pattern, Mathematical Competence, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research