Nuevas tecnologías y aprendizaje matemático en niños con síndrome de down: generalización para la autonomía

El presente trabajo analiza el efecto del uso de materiales multimedia en el aprendizaje de contenidos matemáticos y sus posibilidades de generalización a personas con síndrome de Down. Dos grupos de niños fueron instruidos, con distintas metodologías de enseñanza, en los principios de conteo y cantidad. Mientras un grupo trabajó con material multimedia, el otro lo hizo con una metodología tradicional de lápiz y papel. Tras el proceso de enseñanza, ambos grupos fueron evaluados mediante una tarea que simulaba una situación de compra. Los resultados sugieren un claro efecto facilitador de la metodología multimedia en la generalización de los conceptos y habilidades básicos de conteo en niños con síndrome de Down.The present study aims to explore the effect of using multimedia material on the learning and generalization of mathematical contents in Down syndrome children. Two groups of children were trained in the principles of counting and cardinality. One group learned by means of a computer-assisted teaching and the other did it by using a paperand-pencil-based methodology. After the teaching process, both groups were assessed with a task pretending a shopping setting. The results strongly suggest an effect of multimedia teaching to facilitate the generalization of the concepts and skills learned by Down syndrome children

Video games and Intellectual Disabilities: a literature review.

Los videojuegos son omnipresentes en la sociedad y esta tecnología ha trascendido su lado lúdico inicial para convertirse también en una herramienta educativa y de entrenamiento cognitivo. En este sentido, diferentes estudios han demostrado que los jugadores expertos obtener ventajas en diversos procesos cognitivos respecto a no-jugadores y jugar con juegos de video puede resultar en especial los beneficios que en algunos casos podría generalizarse a otras tareas. En consecuencia, los juegos de video podría ser utilizado como una herramienta de formación para mejorar las capacidades cognitivas en poblaciones atípicas, como las relativas a las personas con discapacidad intelectual (DI). Sin embargo, la literatura sobre los videojuegos en personas con ID es escasa. En este trabajo se ejecutó una revisión narrativa de los estudios sobre el uso de los videojuegos en relación a las personas con ID.Video games are ubiquitous in the society and this technology has transcended its initial playful side to become also an educational and cognitive training tool. In this sense, different studies have shown that expert game players gain advantages in various cognitive processes respect to non-players and that playing with video games can result in particular profits that in some cases could be generalized to other tasks. Accordingly, video games could be used as a training tool in order to improve cognitive abilities in atypical populations, such as relating to individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). However, literature concerning video games in people with ID is sparse. In this paper we executed a narrative review of the studies about the use of video games in relation to people with ID.• Fundación Valhondo Calaff (Cáceres), para Marta Rodríguez Jiménez • Università di Padova. Beca CPDA 127939, para Silvia LanfranchipeerReviewe

Developing the Mathematical Skills among Sample of Down syndrome by Education Technology

The purpose of the current study is to know the influence of a program based on education technology in developing mathematical operations (subtraction and addition operations ) for a sample of (50) male and female students of Down Syndrome in the National Association for Mentally Disabled.  The method used in this study is the quasi-experimental approach and a computerized program had been promoted to develop e the mathematical skills. The results indicated that the effect of this program on the members of the sample were for the benefit of the experimental group. Furthermore, there were statistical significance differences (?=0.05) attributed to gender in favor of females. On the other hand, the results of the study showed the absence of statistical significance differences (?=0.05) attributed to the effect of the interaction between the program and gender in the skills of addition and subtraction besides the impact of gender. Key words: Education technology program, mathematical skills (add, subtract), Down syndrome

Number Skills Conceptual Framework for Down Syndrome Children

This project explores what are the learning theory/s that can be used in developing the Number Skill Conceptual Framework for Down Syndrome Children. The framework will be used as a guideline in developing a mathematic computer application with the purpose to help the Down Syndrome children to recognize numbers. The methodology used for this project is the Rapid Application Development (RAD), and the data gathering process draws on Mix Method data gathering that were done through interview, survey, observation and literature review analysis. From that, few things were identified; the findings suggested that Cognitive Learning theory is one of the most relevant theories that can be used in developing the conceptual framework, and children with learning difficulties learn better when they are using computer applications. An application to help children with Down Syndrome to recognize numbers were developed by using the conceptual framework as a guideline. The application is named as “SynMax” and it was developed so that it can be used in 2 languages which are English and Malay Language. There are three modules in the SynMax which are the “Learning”, a module that introduce numbers to children, “Matching”, a module that helps the children to recognize the shape of the numbers and finally “Counting” that teaches the children the amount for each of the numbers. User acceptance test was done to 3 children with Down Syndrome aged between 13. The testing served 2 objectives which are; 1) To test users’ acceptance to the application and 2) To test whether users can connect their prior knowledge with the activities in the application. Observation checklist was prepared prior to the testing. The result showed that the children can accept the application with the assistance of their teacher and they can connect what they have learned in the class with the activities in SynMax. The project is ended with recommendations and conclusion. Recommendation is a section where all the related recommendations and some improvements that can be done for the future of this project are listed and elaborated. Finally, the conclusion section concludes the project as a whole

Information and communication technologies based teaching methodologies for Peruvian children with down syndrome

Learning disabilities are found in people that experience difficulties in the acquisition of basic intellectual skills, which are fundamental to succeeding at school, work or in life in general. An example of a learning disability is Down Syndrome (DS). Children with DS are usually unable to follow the traditional educational systems. As a result, these children need tailored methods and techniques that adapt to their learning styles. Therefore, new educational tools are being developed that allow Down Syndrome Children (DSC) to sharpen their intellectual capacities in a better way. In this research, we implemented and modified two literature-based mobile tools that could aid in acquiring mathematics and linguistic skills oriented towards DSC. We performed a quasi-experimentation to test the improvements in mathematics and language skills in a group of children with DS. Moreover, we found that measuring the response time of children with disabilities is a complex task; and the continuous assistance from a tutor was also found to be necessary. Despite the difficulties encountered, such as distraction from the children because of being curious to interact with a technological tool, the results show that it is possible to increment the mathematical and language skills in a group of DSC by using an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based tool in contrast with a classical teaching methodology without ICT tools

Improving spatial-simultaneous working memory in Down syndrome: effect of a training program led by parents instead of an expert

Recent studies have suggested that the visuospatial component of working memory (WM) is selectively impaired in individuals with Down syndrome (DS), the deficit relating specifically to the spatial-simultaneous component, which is involved when stimuli are presented simultaneously. The present study aimed to analyze the effects of a computer-based program for training the spatial-simultaneous component of WM in terms of: specific effects (on spatial-simultaneous WM tasks); near and far transfer effects (on spatial-sequential and visuospatial abilities, and everyday memory tasks); and maintenance effects (1 month after the training). A comparison was drawn between the results obtained when the training was led by parents at home as opposed to an expert in psychology. Thirty-nine children and adolescents with DS were allocated to one of two groups: the training was administered by an expert in one, and by appropriately instructed parents in the other. The training was administered individually twice a week for a month, in eight sessions lasting approximately 30 min each. Our participants' performance improved after the training, and these results were maintained a month later in both groups. Overall, our findings suggest that spatial-simultaneous WM performance can be improved, obtaining specific and transfer gains; above all, it seems that, with adequate support, parents could effectively administer a WM training to their child

The effects of the integration of mathematics within children\u27s literature on early numeracy skills of young children with disabilities

Math skills are critical for future success in school (Eccles, 1997), as school-entry math knowledge is the strongest predictor of later academic achievement (Claessens, Duncan, & Engel, 2009). Researchers have found that teachers of young children spend less time teaching mathematics than other subject areas (Phillips & Meloy, 2012), and there is a lack of formal early mathematics instruction for young children’s understanding of early numeracy (Chard et al., 2008). However, preschoolers are developmentally ready for mathematics and are more able to learn math concepts than previously believed (Balfanz, Ginsburg, & Greenes, 2003). While there is a recent increase of literature on math with young children, there is a scarcity of research related to young children with disabilities in the field of mathematics, particularly utilizing evidence based interventions. The current study investigates one intervention integrating mathematics within children’s literature for preschoolers with disabilities. This study was a quasi-experimental group design, with one treatment group and one comparison group (N = 50 participants). Targeted early numeracy skills included: (1) one-to-one correspondence, (2) quantity comparison, and (3) numeral identification. The 20-minute intervention was conducted three days per week for six weeks; the comparison group received a typical small group storybook reading of the same literature book with no elaborations. The Test of Early Mathematics Ability, Third Edition (TEMA-3; Ginsburg & Baroody, 2003) was used as a pre and post standardized assessment, and analyzed using one-way ANCOVAs controlling for pretest scores. The Preschool Numeracy Indicators (PNI; Floyd, Hojnoski, & Key, 2006) was used as a weekly curriculum based measurement and analyzed by one-way ANCOVAS and by individual and group means for descriptive data. After the intervention, the children in the treatment group scored significantly higher in the areas of total math ability, quantity comparison, and one-to-one counting fluency than the comparison group. Implications include possibilities for further integrating mathematics within literature for preschoolers with disabilities, the benefits of intentional storybook selection for this type of intervention, and the recognition of the importance of introducing mathematical topics to preschoolers with disabilities in order of developmental cognitive readiness

Teaching Mathematical Skills to Individuals with down Syndrome: A Content Analysis Study

The aim of this study is to reveal the trends in studies on teaching mathematical skills and individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) from various perspectives by analyzing the content of scientific research articles in this field. As a result of literature review conducted for this purpose, a total number of 62 articles which can be accessed in full text searched in international databases between 1988-2019 were included in the study. The articles were subjected to content analysis. According to the results of the analysis, the number of studies on mathematics and DS has increased in the recent years and research subjects mainly composed of counting skills, teaching mathematics to individuals with DS in inclusive classrooms and using technology to enhance mathematical skills of indviduals with DS. It was found that individuals with DS were preferred as the sample group of the studies examined and qualitative and single-subject research designs were frequently used in the studies. Results are presented with frequencies and percentages and discussed with relevant literature. Keywords: Teaching mathematics, Down syndrome, content analysis

Entering Aladdin’s cave: developing an app for children with Down Syndrome

Tablets have much to offer children with learning difficulties but evidence of their effectiveness to teach academic skills is limited and cannot be easily separated from the quality of the software. This paper analyses data from three iterative cycles of designing an App for children with Down syndrome to support their awareness of quantity through an inclusive game. Research with neurotypical children suggests that representation of quantity (or magnitude) is an area with considerable potential in supporting the foundations for children’s mathematical learning. It has received little attention as an aspect for intervention for children with Down syndrome. Data collected in this study illustrate the need to carefully align the game mechanic to the target skills, strengthen levels of access and introduce gradations of attentional demand. They also signal the interrelationship between children’s cognitive and affective responses to the game, making it essential to find the optimal level of challenge. Children’s strategies in response to mistakes indicate the importance of creating an agile responsive system. The data also suggest that developers routinely extend the number of features that are optional, enabling a greater level of personalization and a more inclusive game

Number Skills Mobile Application for Down Syndrome Children

Studies found that learning number skills seems to be more difficult for Down Syndrome (DS) children compared to reading skills. They need personalized learning in numbers due to their slower pace of learning. Unfortunately, there is limited theory to guide DS children to learn and master in mathematics. Besides that, with the advancement of technology, the learning style of special children has been improved from time to time from the paper and pen method, to the use of computer application such as courseware, and the latest technology is mobile application in smart phones and tablets. But, as for now, there is no personalized mathematics learning mobile application for DS children. To address this problem, the aim of this project is to develop a mobile application on learning the basic numbers for Down Syndrome children, with the objective of identifying the suitable learning theory to be used in developing numeracy conceptual framework for them. The other objective is to evaluate the user acceptance on the developed mobile application at the last phase of the project development. The study will be focusing on the Down Syndrome children with moderate level of IQ who are learning to recognize basic numbers. In this project, the method used to achieve the objectives is Rapid Application Development (RAD). The phase of requirement planning was done through interview, research and literature review study on gathering information about Down Syndrome, learning theories and the suitable development platform for the application. For user design phase, the suitable learning theory has been designed, the draft as well as the flow of suitable user-interface has been created. The construction part involved activities of developing and validating the mobile application, and user acceptance test. Lastly, after conducted a user testing to DS children who have different level of IQ, the result shows that the mobile application is really suitable for DS children who have moderate level IQ as stated in the scope before. This is because it is able to assist them in understanding basic numbers through the process of learning mathematics based on the learning theory included in the application learning style