Mathematical skills in adolescence: Effects of a fluency-based training on performance and anxiety perception in Learning Disabilities
Angela Saccà, Valentina Tirelli, Francesca Derba, Vanessa Artoni
This paper evaluates the effects of fluency-based training (Binder, 1996; 2003) on mathematical skills and the perception of anxiety in a group of adolescents. The aim was to assess whether the implementation of mathematical strengthening programmes can increase students’ numeracy skills and reduce perceived anxiety and difficulties in performing mathematical exercises (Ashcraft and Moore, 2009). Four secondary school students aged 15 participated in the research, all with a diagnosis of Specific Learning Disorder. The study was conducted through a single subject intervention plan with pre- and post-testing, (Cooper, Heron and Heward, 2007), in which the participants’ performance was compared, before and after, to (a) mathematical skills and (b) level of anxiety towards mathematics, assessed through the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale test (AMAS - Hopko, Mahadevan, Bare and Hunt, 2003). Fluency training was implemented in order to foster the acquisition and automation of mathematical computing skills, and was structured according to a curriculum aimed at consolidating first basic and then progressively more complex computing skills. The results show the acquisition of greater fluency in numeracy skills, while there are discordant results among participants regarding the level of anxiety towards mathematics.
Keywords
Mathematical skills, Fluency, Anxiety, Learning disorders, Adolescence.