Special Needs Student Developing Automaticity With Multiplication Facts Six to Nine

In previous studies, the student used skip counting and her hands to recall [1] all the multiplication facts for the ones to fives and also gained automaticity [2] for the ones to fives facts. In the current study the ninth-grade student was able to memorize the multiplication facts (0 to 10) for the sixes to nines and gained automaticity with 80% accuracy. The overall goal of the current study was to improve the student’s automaticity of multiplication facts (0-10) for the sixes through nines, such as 6 x 7 = 42. The student had been taught multiplication concepts in her elementary years and she has a basic understanding of the meaning of multiplication facts as shown in the previous studies. She understood that 6 x 7 is a representation of six sets of seven or 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 = 42. The student had previously used skip counting and flash cards with illustrations of the multiplication facts to memorize the facts. In the current study a multiple baseline design was used to measure the acquisition of fluency of multiplication facts over time. The student was able to develop automaticity with 80% accuracy by giving the solution within 3 seconds for all of the facts (0-10) for the sixes through nines.

The Feierabend Approach

Dr. Missy Strong explains Dr. John Feierabend’s approach to what he calls his “30-Year Plan” for all students. With the right musical guidance in the elementary years, students will become tuneful, beautiful, and artful. Strong goes into detail about the eight-step workout found in Dr. Feierabend’s First Steps in Music for Preschool and Beyond to help students become fundamentally musical. Amy M. Burns offers ways to integrate technology into each step, giving music educators several ideas and lessons that can enhance the classroom when using Dr. Feierabend’s First Steps Approach. The lessons and ideas presented are ones educators can use for assessing their students, extending the lesson concepts, and sharing their music-making with others outside the classroom. The lessons can be used by educators who have limited technology or 1:1 classrooms, and those with novice to advanced technological skills.

The unique role of verbal memory, vocabulary, concentration and self-efficacy in children’s listening comprehension in upper elementary grades

Listening comprehension is important for daily communication and at school, yet relatively little is known about the variables contributing to listening comprehension, especially in the upper elementary years. The aim of this study was to explore whether vocabulary, verbal memory, but also self-efficacy and self-reported concentration contribute to listening comprehension. The authors assessed oral text comprehension, as well as the concurrent contributors vocabulary, verbal short- and long-term memory, self-efficacy and concentration in a sample of 442 upper elementary school children (9- to 12-year-olds). Structural equation models were used to test for direct and indirect associations. The best-fitting model was an indirect model in which verbal short-term memory and self-efficacy were positively associated with children’s vocabulary. Vocabulary, in turn, was positively associated with children’s listening comprehension. Using bias-corrected bootstrap procedures, however, vocabulary appeared to mediate the association between academic self-efficacy and listening comprehension. The indirect association between verbal short-term memory and listening comprehension through vocabulary just missed significance. The findings relate to models of listening comprehension that state a dominant role for vocabulary, also in the upper elementary years. They imply that the models could extend to evaluating broader student-related resources, such as academic self-efficacy. Furthermore, the findings on general cognitive resources fit the pattern of mixed findings in previous research. Together, the results motivate further research into contributors to listening comprehension throughout the elementary years.

Helping a Student with Learning Disabilities Develop Automaticity with Multiplication Facts

An eighth-grade student, was able to memorize multiplication facts (0 to 10) for the zeroes to fives with 100% accuracy. In a previous study [1] the student used skip counting and her hands to recall all the facts for the ones to fives. The overall goal of the current study was to improve the student’s automaticity of multiplication facts (0-10) for the ones through fives, such as 4 x 6 = 24. The student had been taught multiplication concepts in her elementary years and she did have a basic understanding of the meaning of multiplication facts as shown in the previous study. She understood that 4 x 6 is a representation of four sets of six or 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 24. The student had used skip counting and flash cards with illustrations of the multiplication facts to memorize the multiplication facts. In the current study a multiple baseline design was used to measure the acquisition of fluency of multiplication facts over time. The student was able to develop automaticity with 80% accuracy by giving the solution within 3 seconds for all of the facts (0-10) for the ones through fives.

An Exploratory Study of Teachers’ Experiences in Physical Education With Children Thought to Have Developmental Coordination Disorder

Teachers can create supportive conditions in physical education to mitigate experiences of stress for children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD); however, most are unfamiliar with DCD and lack adequate training to instruct children with impairments. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of and interactions in physical education with children thought to demonstrate functional difficulties associated with DCD. A semistructured interview was conducted with 12 teachers across all elementary years with diverse backgrounds and thematically analyzed. Four themes were produced. Teachers (a) had differing views on the etiology of children’s movement difficulties, though (b) all recognized a range of difficulties children demonstrated. They (c) believed it was their role to facilitate positive experiences for these children in physical education but (d) experienced challenges in doing so. Training that increases teachers’ knowledge of and abilities to address the needs of children thought to have DCD is warranted.