Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 M.A. Student in Psychology and Education of Children with Special Needs, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
2 Professor, Department of Psychology and Education of Children with Special Needs, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Education of Children with Special Needs, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of perceptual enrichment on working memory and mathematical performance in students with specific learning disabilities in mathematics. This study employed a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design with a control group and an experimental group. The statistical population included all students with specific learning disabilities in mathematics in the fourth to sixth grades in Isfahan city. A sample of 28 participants was selected through convenience sampling and was randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group (14 participants per group). To collect data, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fourth Edition (WISC-IV), the Key-Math Diagnostic Arithmetic Test, and the N-back Working Memory Test were used. The experimental group participated in 10 sessions of perceptual enrichment intervention, each lasting 45–60 minutes, held twice a week. The data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA and MANCOVA). The results indicated the effectiveness of perceptual enrichment in improving working memory (p <.001) and mathematical performance (p <.001) in the experimental group. The results of this study demonstrate that perceptual enrichment can be effective in improving the working memory and mathematical performance of students with specific learning disabilities in mathematics.
Keywords: Mathematical Performance, Perceptual Enrichment, Specific Learning Disability in Mathematics, Working Memory
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Specific learning disability in mathematics is characterized by deficits in numerical and mathematical skills, where an individual's mathematical ability is significantly below that of their peers, despite access to adequate education and normal intelligence. Students with this disability often exhibit deficits in working memory and mathematical performance. Furthermore, they generally have visual perception deficits. In fact, one of the underlying causes of a specific learning disability in mathematics is a weakness in visual perception, and improving visual perception skills can help reduce associated difficulties. Therefore, based on research highlighting the importance of visual perception and its role in mitigating mathematical learning difficulties, various interventions have been designed to enhance perceptual skills—particularly visual perception—among which perceptual enrichment is one of the most significant.
Perceptual enrichment is a program designed to develop and improve visual perception skills. It includes games, exercises, and targeted activities that focus on the six main skills of visual perception: visual discrimination, visual memory, visual-spatial relationships, visual form constancy, visual figure-ground perception, and visual closure. However, a review of the relevant literature shows that little research has investigated the effectiveness of perceptual enrichment in improving the working memory and mathematical performance of students with specific learning disabilities in mathematics. Therefore, the present study addresses this gap.
Research Question
Is perceptual enrichment effective in improving the working memory and mathematical performance of students with a specific learning disability in mathematics?
Literature Review
Motamedi Borujeni et al. (2023) demonstrated the effectiveness of visual perception training in reducing mathematical learning difficulties in elementary school students. Asiaei et al. (2018) also found that a perceptual skills rehabilitation program improved perceptual reasoning, working memory, and mathematical performance in students with mathematical learning disabilities.
Methodology
This study employed a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test/post-test control group structure. The statistical population consisted of all fourth- to sixth-grade students with specific learning disabilities in mathematics in Esfahan. A sample of 28 students was selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n = 14) or a control group (n = 14). The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fourth Edition (WISC-IV), the KeyMath Diagnostic Arithmetic Test, and the N-back Working Memory Test were administered. The experimental group received ten 45- to 60-minute sessions of perceptual enrichment intervention twice weekly, while the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 27) and univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance.
Results (Times New Roman 12 bold)
To compare the experimental and control groups based on post-test scores after controlling for the effect of the pre-test, univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used. The results are reported in Table 1.
Table 1. The results of univariate covariance analysis by dependent variables
Variable
Sum of Squares
df
Mean of Squares
F
sig
Effect Size
Keymath Test
4291/75
1
4291/75
393/296
<0/001
0/945
N-back Test
4210/168
1
4210/168
87/963
<0/001
0/793
Table 1 shows a significant difference between the experimental and control groups on all measures (p <.001), indicating that mathematical performance and working memory scores differed significantly between the groups. The effect size was greater than 0.2, demonstrating that the perceptual enrichment program was effective in improving the mathematical performance and working memory of students with mathematics learning disabilities. The analysis of covariance for the KeyMath Test, with mathematical performance separated by subscales, is presented in Table 2.
Table 2. The results of multivariate covariance analysis for subscales of the Keymath Test
Variable
Sum of Squares
df
Mean of Squares
F
sig
Effect Size
Basic concepts
2865/286
1
2865/286
153/287
<0/001
0/87
Operation
2613/148
1
2613/148
142/078
<0/001
0/86
Applications
1974/306
1
1974/306
233/614
<0/001
0/91
Table 2 shows that the perceptual enrichment intervention had a significant effect on all subscales of the KeyMath Test—basic concepts, operations, and applications—at a significance level of p <.001.
Discussion
The results of the study demonstrate that the perceptual enrichment intervention was effective in improving the working memory and mathematical performance of students with specific learning disabilities in mathematics. In explaining these findings, the importance of visual-spatial working memory in specific learning disabilities in mathematics can be emphasized. Since visual memory and visual-spatial relationships are two key visual perception skills, perceptual enrichment and the training of these skills can help improve working memory in children with specific learning disabilities in mathematics.
Another explanation is that one of the primary reasons for a specific learning disability in mathematics involves deficits in visual perception. Visual perception forms the basis of number processing and mathematical performance and is also related to computational fluency. In fact, impairments in the approximate number system can stem from deficits in visual perception. Therefore, visual perception is a cognitive mechanism that underlies mathematical performance in children with mathematical learning disabilities, and interventions targeting visual perception help improve their mathematical performance.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that perceptual enrichment has a positive effect on improving the working memory and mathematical performance of students with specific learning disabilities in mathematics. By strengthening the six main skills of visual perception, it helps students address their challenges in working memory and mathematics learning. Considering the limitations of this study—including the use of convenience sampling, a small sample size, the absence of a follow-up phase, and the lack of control for gender as a variable—it is suggested that future studies select a larger sample through random sampling with gender stratification and evaluate participant performance in a follow-up phase. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the perceptual enrichment intervention should be investigated for other groups of children with special educational needs.
Acknowledgments
The authors sincerely thank all the schools, students, and their families who participated in and supported this research.
Keywords
)