Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities - Division on ...

software immediately repeated the numbers
aloud. This allowed the student to hear what
the FLY Pen <strong>in</strong>terpreted from their writ<strong>in</strong>g.
Students were then able to re-write the number
if the FLY Pen misidentified a number
or they were able to move on to the next step.
After the pentop comptuer correctly recognized
each number <strong>and</strong> operation (i.e., multiplication),
students were prompted to confirm
that the problem was correct <strong>and</strong> press
the “Enter” button on the tablet. The student
was then prompted to select “Yes” or “No” if
the entire problem was read correctly. Additional
assistance was provided only after the
problem was read correctly <strong>and</strong> the student
selected “Yes.”
As the students worked to solve the problems,
they were required to complete the multiplication
steps <strong>in</strong> the correct order, as specified
by the FLY Pen, which allowed the
software to recognize what the student had
written. For example, when the problem <strong>in</strong>volved
the multiplication of two numbers, the
student was first required to write the numbers
<strong>in</strong> their answer from right-to-left plac<strong>in</strong>g
the correct digit <strong>in</strong> the ones place prior to
writ<strong>in</strong>g the number to be carried or before
writ<strong>in</strong>g a number <strong>in</strong> the tens or hundreds
place (i.e., When solv<strong>in</strong>g 12 9, first the
student must multiply the 9 digit by the 2 digit
<strong>and</strong> write the number eight or write the carried
one before proceed<strong>in</strong>g to write the zero
<strong>in</strong> the tens place or the one <strong>in</strong> the hundreds
place [12 9 108]). As the student cont<strong>in</strong>ued
to solve the problem, the FLY Pen provided
re<strong>in</strong>forcement (i.e., beeps) for correct
responses, prompts for <strong>in</strong>correct ones such as
“switch your digits” or “remember to carry”
h<strong>in</strong>ts, <strong>and</strong> page numbers for example problems
<strong>in</strong> the Launch Pad. Once the student
f<strong>in</strong>ished writ<strong>in</strong>g what they believed was the
solution, the student tapped “F<strong>in</strong>ish” <strong>and</strong> the
pentop computer responded by <strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g
whether the solution was correct or <strong>in</strong>correct.
If the solution was <strong>in</strong>correct, a specific h<strong>in</strong>t
about where the error was made was provided.
For example, when solv<strong>in</strong>g 13 4 if the student
put a 53 <strong>in</strong>stead of a 52, a h<strong>in</strong>t may have
prompted the student to multiply 3 4 aga<strong>in</strong>.
Dur<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>tervention phase, students
were required to use the FLY Pen <strong>and</strong> associated
multiplication <strong>and</strong> division software for
all multiplication problems. The materials
used by the students dur<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>tervention
<strong>in</strong>cluded the pen, multiplication <strong>and</strong> division
software cartridge, earphones, FLY Pen
Math paper, <strong>and</strong> the pen storage conta<strong>in</strong>er.
When each student started the <strong>in</strong>tervention
phase of the study, s/he was assigned a box
with the study materials that were stored <strong>in</strong> a
nearby cab<strong>in</strong>et for easy access dur<strong>in</strong>g each
math class.
Follow<strong>in</strong>g their <strong>in</strong>-class practice with the
pentop computer, students were then assessed
on the multiplication facts acquired dur<strong>in</strong>g
<strong>in</strong>struction three or four per week. These assessments
required the students to solve similar
types of problems to what they had previously
practiced; however, they were not
allowed to use their FLY Pen dur<strong>in</strong>g the
assessment sessions. The assessment sessions
<strong>in</strong>cluded a r<strong>and</strong>om selection of five basic multiplication
problems (s<strong>in</strong>gle digits multiplied
by s<strong>in</strong>gle digits problems) <strong>and</strong> five mixed multiplication
problems (double digit numbers
multiplied by s<strong>in</strong>gle digit numbers) for a total
of ten problems per assessment. The percentage
correct out of ten was calculated for each
<strong>in</strong>tervention session.
Ma<strong>in</strong>tenance. Follow<strong>in</strong>g a m<strong>in</strong>imum of a
one week break from <strong>in</strong>tervention, students
completed a ma<strong>in</strong>tenance assessment <strong>in</strong>
which their ma<strong>in</strong>tenance of the multiplication
facts was determ<strong>in</strong>ed. These assessments were
conducted <strong>in</strong> the same format as the basel<strong>in</strong>e
<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>tervention assessments. Specifically,
they <strong>in</strong>cluded a r<strong>and</strong>om selection of five basic
multiplication problems (s<strong>in</strong>gle digits multiplied
by s<strong>in</strong>gle digits problems) <strong>and</strong> five
mixed multiplication problems (double digit
numbers multiplied by s<strong>in</strong>gle digit numbers)
for a total of ten problems per assessment.
The percentage correct out of ten was calculated
for each ma<strong>in</strong>tenance session.
Social Validity
Twice dur<strong>in</strong>g this <strong>in</strong>vestigation—first follow<strong>in</strong>g
the pre-tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g phase <strong>and</strong> aga<strong>in</strong> after the
<strong>in</strong>tervention phase—students <strong>and</strong> their
teacher were <strong>in</strong>terviewed to determ<strong>in</strong>e the social
validity of us<strong>in</strong>g FLY Pens for acquir<strong>in</strong>g
multiplication skills (see Table 2 for a list of
the student <strong>and</strong> teacher pre <strong>and</strong> post social
validity questions). Students <strong>and</strong> teachers
were <strong>in</strong>terviewed <strong>in</strong>dividually <strong>and</strong> were asked
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