Effectiveness of concrete-representational-abstract teaching strategy (cra) in teaching the concept of place value to students with autism spectrum disorder

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of The Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) approach offered with the direct teaching method to teach place value of a number to students with autism spectrum disorder. In addition, the permanence of the CRA technique on the following 10th and 20th days after the end of training sessions was examined by assessing whether it could be generalized to apply under differing conditions, that is, various subjects and stimuli, and by evaluating social validity regarding the technique. A multiple probe design across participants, which is one of the single-subject research designs, was used to investigate the phenomenon mentioned above. This study's dependent variable was students' level of success in apprehending place values, namely target skills, whereas the independent variable was the Concrete-Representational-Abstract teaching strategy offered with the direct teaching method. The findings of the study were analyzed by graphical analysis. This research was carried out in Tekirdag and conducted among three boys attending formal education with autism spectrum disorder, aged between 8 and 11. This research has concluded that the CRA strategy, offered with the direct teaching method, was quite efficient to teach place value to the students with autism spectrum disorder. It was observed that students were able to sustain the ability they gained through the technique even after 10 and 20 days the sessions were terminated and that they can generalize it among different people and settings. Furthermore, teachers expressed a positive opinion regarding CRA's impact on the students.