Using Computer-Assisted Intervention To Improve Mathematical Learning of Autistic Students

Volume 2, Issue 6, June 2017 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No: - 2456 - 2165
Using Computer-Assisted Intervention to Improve

Mathematical Learning of Autistic Students
Siti Nur Azrreen Ruslan
Faculty of Informations and Communication Technology
Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka
Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia
AbstractThere has been vast research on the effectiveness of

Computer-Assisted Intervention (CAI) in helping autistic II. METHODOLOGY
students for learning various knowledge and skills. However,
most of them are in the areas of literacy and only a small number A. Participants
of them are in numeracy. Hence, this research is aimed to The participants of the research were three male students
examine a CAI in helping autistic students to learn a concept of diagnosed with ASD attending a special education class in one
addition in mathematics. Three male students diagnosed with of the primary school in Ayer Keroh, Melaka. The participants
autism and with prerequisite skills participated in this research.
had been expected to possess certain prerequisite qualities, for
A pre-post-test design was implemented in the research. Findings
example, (a) the ability to follow instructions orally or in
of this research are promising in which all three participants
demonstrated a positive outcome at the end of the treatment.
written form like counting and adding, (b) know how to use
the computer with a computer mouse, (c) the ability to
KeywordsConcept of Addition; Autism; Computer-Assisted recognise numbers between 1 and 10, as well as (d) the ability
Intervention to focus on a certain activity for a minimum of 10 minutes.
During the selection process of the participants, pre-
I. INTRODUCTION interviews were performed with the teachers to gather some
Based on a report by BERNAMA cited in an article basic information about the students. The participants, later,
published by Time Money [1], one out of every 600 children were observed separately to verify if they did possess the
born in Malaysia has been predicted to suffer from autism. required skills. At the end of the observation period, three
Therefore, fundamental skills for independent living cannot be students out of six who met the required skills had been
denied as extremely essential for those with special needs, chosen for the experiment.
including children with autism, to ascertain their ability to
continue living independently without expecting help from B. Ethical Consideration
others. Additionally, a special curriculum has been designed During the experiment, voluntary participation was
and used specifically for autistic students due to the limited imminent. Hence, students with autism were required to give
ability to learn skills and shorter concentration span. consent to be involved in the research when they displayed
sufficient competence to do so. The consent from these
Besides using common interventions to teach autistic
students with autism was sought in addition to the consent
students, vast studies have been conducted to investigate a
provided by their parents or guardians.
variety use of CAI to teach them various skills [2], [3]. The
CAI is widely applied to enhance their social skills [4][9],
communication skill [10], [11] and academic skills [12][16]. C. Setting
In fact, comparative studies have indicated that computer- The experiment took place in an individualised education
based instruction typically results in advantages like increased classroom. A laptop with a computer mouse was used to
motivation, decreased inappropriate behaviour, increased present the MTS. Besides, during the experiment, no other
attention, and sometimes, increased learning, in comparison to person was allowed to be in the classroom other than the
other traditional methods [3]. In the past, CAI usually utilized researcher and the students. Both the learning and assessment
as an assistive tool [2] or temporary instructional aid to treat modules were presented using MTS during the experiment
children with autism [3]. However, most researches sessions. A prompt and assistance were given to the
concentrated on the literacy skills [2], [12], [13] compared to participants if they answered it wrongly.
mathematical skills, which focus on different practices and
approaches without the use of CAI. Hence, the goal of this III. RESULTS
research was to investigate the effectiveness of the CAI in
helping autistic students to study the concept of addition in Figure 1 and Figure 2 indicated that there was an
mathematics. improvement in the performance of participants throughout the
experiment. Nevertheless, there were some sessions where the
participants performance showed slightly decreased, although
these performances still within the predetermined
performances. The findings of this research are encouraging in
which all three participants showed a positive result at the end
of the experiment.
IJISRT17JU88 www.ijisrt.com 55
ISSN No: - 2456 - 2165
Participant 2 can be said acquired the concept of basic addition
skills. During the post-test, Participant 2 has gained 85%, an
increase of 35% compared to the pre-test scores. This suggests
that the CAI was efficient for Participant 2. Furthermore,
during the intervention, Participant 2 sustain decent behaviour
throughout the remaining experiment session compared to the
first session.
C. Participant 3
During the pre-test, Participant 3 indicated that he has the
minimum fundamental concept of addition with a score of
30%. Throughout the experiment, Participant 3 demonstrated
an excellent ability to recall the examples and instructions of
the previous session by which help him during the exercise.
Fig. 1. Line plot of Participants performance during experimental session During the experiment, Participant 3 reached target
performances following three sessions. At the end of the
experiment, Participant 3 average scores dropped due to the
non-pictorial questions in which he seems confused and not
able to solve the questions. Participant 3 can be said acquired
the concept of addition skills with minimal guidance from the
teacher. During the post-test, Participant 3 has obtained 65%,
an increase of 35% compared to the pre-test scores. This
suggests that the CAI was efficient for Participant 3. On top of
that, during the intervention, Participant 3 also demonstrated
an improvement in behaviour, where Participant 3 sustain
decent behaviour throughout the remaining experiment session
compared to the first session.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, the CAI can play an important role in autism
education process and may improve the autistic students
Fig. 2. Scatter plot of pre-test and post-test scores
academic skills as it represents a controlled environment to the
students with autism which they can use it by themselves and
A. Participant 1 makes them feel a certain level of control over the
During the pre-test, Participant 1 demonstrated that he environment [17]. The use of CAI in the long term as learning
already has the fundamental concept of addition with a score tools can help to increase the students interest towards
of 60%. Throughout the experiment, Participant 1 seemed academic and improving their academic performance. Since
playful and needed help to remain focused at the initial period most of the autistic students are visual learners [18], the
of the session. However, in the third session, Participant 1 methods used in the CAI such as animations, images and
began to focus and show an increase in average scores sounds can attract their attention and make them engage
throughout the session. During the experiment, Participant 1 throughout the learning session. Besides, their interest and
reached target performances following six sessions and the attention towards the CAI lesson can also help to reduce the
average scores increased to 85%. Participant 1 is said acquired autistic students behaviour problems besides helping them to
the concept of basic addition skills with guidance and improve in academic skills.
assistance from the teacher. During the post-test, the scores for
Participant 1 increase 30%, from 60% to 90% in which REFERENCES
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Using Computer-Assisted Intervention To Improve Mathematical Learning of Autistic Students

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Volume 2, Issue 6, June 2017 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

ISSN No: - 2456 - 2165

Using Computer-Assisted Intervention to Improve

AbstractThere has been vast research on the effectiveness of

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