Abstract

CLOETE, Jevonn; BASSON, Maylene  and  LAMPEN, Erna. Guidelines for the use of context-rich mathematics tasks as fundamental approach to teaching mathematics to learners with severe intellectual disabilities. Tydskr. geesteswet. [online]. 2024, vol.64, n.2, pp.198-218. ISSN 2224-7912.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2224-7912/2024/v64n2a4.

The political and social environments in which learners with disabilities live often cause more limitation on the individual abilities of these learners than the disability itself (Capri et al., 2018:2). Likewise, mathematical thinking for learners who are severely mentally disabled is often limited to concretisation or memorisation, which tends to undermine mathematical number sense. This study was undertaken against the background of a lack of methodological guidelines for the teaching of mathematics in the new adapted curriculum for learners who are severely intellectually disabled. Context-rich mathematics tasks for the development of mathematical thinking in learners who are severely intellectually disabled were used during the study. A qualitative research approach was followed in which empirical data were generated through three action research cycles. Data were collected through in-depth discussions, field notes, a literature review and learner work. Vygotsky's (1978:6) sociocultural theory was used as a theoretical framework because it highlights the importance of social interactions and mediated learning. The Reality, Abstraction, Mathematics and Reflection (RAMR) framework of Cooper and Carter (2016:177) is used as a didactic framework for a practical approach to mathematics education in the study. According to the data from in-depth discussions with five educators, learners with intellectual disability are perceived to have limited number sense knowledge. These educators also indicated that their choice of learning tasks only included number facts, arithmetic fluency, memorisation, and teaching with concrete apparatus. Data from the in-depth discussions with two mathematics subject advisors working in special education pointed out educators'limited didactical knowledge for teaching mathematics to learners who are severely intellectually disabled. Based on these data, a teaching intervention was designed and implemented for six months. The purpose was to investigate the effect on participation and learning of changing the researcher's practice to focus on mathematical reasoning in context rich tasks. The lived experiences of the ten learners who were involved in the teaching intervention were included as a background to mathematics problems to design context-rich tasks. The guidelines from the research entail that real-life contexts in which mathematical problem types are embedded are conducive to learning experiences that are rich in discussion for learners who are severely intellectually disabled. Such an approach has the potential to make mathematics more meaningful to learners who are severely intellectually disabled, improve their mastery of contexts, and develop critical thinking. Findings from the action research process can be adapted to similar mathematics teaching practices.

Keywords : mathematics education; guidelines; severe intellectual disability; context-rich tasks; action research; sociocultural theory; special education; RAMR teaching framework; number sense.

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