THE EFFECTS OF SELF-INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES ON PROBLEM SOLVING IN ALGEBRA FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

This study was intended to determine the effects of self-instructional training on algebra problem solving performance of students with learning disabilities, students for whom English is a second language and students who were at risk of failing algebra. Four high school algebra classes consisting of 74 students, of whom 17 were classified as having learning disabilities, 37 had English as a second language, and 20 were considered at-risk for math failure, were assigned randomly to either a self-instructional training condition or a traditional instructional condition. All students were administered pretests, immediate posttests, and delayed posttests of algebra problem solving, pre and post strategy usage questionnaires, and attitude measures. After training, results indicated that both groups’ performance increased from pretest to immediate posttest and pretest to delayed posttest, but no statistical difference was found between groups. The self-instruction group significantly outperformed the traditional instruction group on independent strategy use. Significant correlations were obtained between strategy usage and immediate and delayed posttest scores, indicating that students who successfully learned the strategy had better performance on the math problem solving tests. No significant differences were found across groups in attitude change. Future research issues are discussed with respect to strategy instruction for at risk learners.