Learning Counting Skills through CRA: The Case of Children with Intellectual Disability

Abstract

The project below is a research on how to apply the CRA method (Concrete-Representational-Abstract), in math, on a student of toddler age with intellectual disability. Children with intellectual disability have a limited understanding of math senses, resulting in facing a lot of difficulties in various daily tasks. Primary math senses are directly related with obtaining skills during toddler age, such as counting and connecting numbers and quantities. Through this essay we are aiming in researching if there can be an improvement in understanding primary math senses after applying the CRA method (Concrete-Representational-Abstract). More specifically, researchers have focused a lot on creating connections between actual quantities, counting numbers and the use of official math words and symbols. methods and the interferences in Math, which are considered to be effective, in order to help people with disability or/and special educational needs, realize and understand math senses, targeting in deploying their workforce, so that they can participate in many different social activities [2].According to many scientific findings, one of the most effective strategies in interfering Math, is the teaching method of CRA (Concrete-Representational-Abstract), which targets in human development and evolution through the Discovery Learning. According to Bruner, each stage of the Discovery Method, represents also a stage of the human development path, their way of thinking, but also the teaching tools that are being used [3] [4].

وحدة مقترحة فی الریاضیات المعیشیة قائمة على التعلیم الحانی لتنمیة بعض المفاهیم والمهارات الریاضیة والعنایة بالذات لدى التلامیذ المعاقین عقلیًا القابلین للتعلم بمدارس التربیة الفکریة A Proposed Unit in Living Mathematics Based on Gentle Teaching, to Develop Some Mathematical Concepts and Skills, Self-Care Among Mentally Handicapped Pupils

“…In the light of the previous results some recommendations and conclusions were presented as follows: There is a necessity to develop mathematics curriculum to meet the needs of mentally handicapped students who are able to learn and facilitate the process of their integration in society, and conducting more future studies on constructing proposed programs in mathematics based on gentle education to develop the different learning outcomes of those pupils. Saunders, et al, 2017;Jimenez, & Saunders, 2019;Darnanta, et al, 2020;Kanellopoulou, 2020;Lechner, 2020;Wu, et (Wertalik & Kubina,2017;Dodson,2018;Suharja, et al, 2019;Asri & Afifah,2020;Pesau, et al, 2020…”