The Effects of a Multicomponent Motivational System Intervention Using Peer-Tutoring for Implementation on the Automation of Single-Digit Addition Tasks of Four Struggling Elementary Students

Abstract

Derived math fact fluency becomes more imperative across all mathematical content areas during a students’ mathematics development. However, many of them struggle to automate the most basic math facts sufficiently and therefore are not able to deal with more complex mathematical problems. This leads to the fact that many of them are already left behind in the early years of their school careers whether they have diagnosed learning disabilities or not. In this single-case research project, we evaluated a peer-tutoring approach designed to extend the number of automated single-digit addition tasks for four struggling elementary students through a multicomponent motivational system including immediate correction of errors, graphical feedback on performance, positive reinforcement, direct instruction flashcards, and a racetrack game. A multiple-baseline design (ABE) across subjects was applied to assess the effects of the treatment. The results indicate significant and large effects of the intervention on the number of automated math facts for the participants. This substantiates the assumption that the math-fact recall performance of struggling students can be improved through the method of peer tutoring even with the limited resources available in everyday school life.