The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality-Based Teaching Material on Geometry Related Problem Solving in Students with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

The past ten years have generated significant research toward improving the mathematical academic outcomes of students with learning disabilities. In this effort, the role of technology in the classroom, both highand low-tech, has gained significant attention for students with disabilities. The use of manipulatives is a form of technology with an established research base. Although concrete manipulatives in instructional practice have been thoroughly studied, the emergence of virtual manipulatives presents teachers with new options for teaching mathematics to elementary and secondary students. This article focuses the use of virtual manipulatives for students with disabilities while highlighting the benefits they pose, such a providing students with flexible options for learning, promoting student autonomy, and offering educators a wider range of options. In the study, the number of correct answers given to the area and volume questions related to the cube, square and rectangular prisms by the virtual teaching material were examined in 3 students with hyperactivity accompanying the learning difficulties. In the research conducted with the multiple probe across participants design, it is possible to say that the implementation of teaching through virtual reality platforms supports the continuation of attention to a certain point and it provides an advantage by having fun applications and increasing the number of correct responses to the geometry problems.