MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION AND PASS COGNITIVE-PROCESSES - AN INTERVENTION STUDY

The purpose of this study was to determine if an instruction designed to facilitate planning, given by teachers to their class as a group, w ould have differential effects depending on the specific cognitive cha racteristics of the individual students. A cognitive instruction that facilitated planning was provided to a group of 12 students with learn ing disabilities. All students completed math work sheets during 7 ses sions of baseline and 21 sessions of intervention (when the instructio n designed to facilitate planning was provided). During the interventi on phase, students engaged in self-reflection and verbalization of str ategies about how mathematics problems were completed. The class was s orted according to planning scores, obtained using the Cognitive Asses sment System, which is based on Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, Suc cessive (PASS) theory; and low-and high-planning contrast groups were identified. The results, consistent with previous research, showed tha t teaching control and regulation of cognitive activity had beneficial effects for all students but was especially helpful for those who wer e poor in planning, as defined by the PASS theory. Implications of the se findings are provided.