Using Brief Experimental Analysis to Identify Effective Mathematics Fluency Intervention for Students in Middle School

Abstract

Recently, scholars have utilized brief experimental analysis (BEA) as a way to efficiently identify math interventions that are effective in supporting elementary students’ performance in mathematics. Although BEA research in mathematics performance of students in the elementary grades is emerging, far less application has been done with older adolescents. Considering the limited number of math studies involving the use of BEA for older students, the purpose of study evaluated the use of BEA to identify effective multiplication fluency intervention for students in middle school. Four participants in middle school served as participants throughout this study. The effects of multiple math interventions on single digit multiplication facts were assessed for each participant using a BEA. For each participant, the most effective intervention identified by the BEA was further evaluated overtime using a multiple baseline probe during an extended analysis. Visual analysis of the data collected during the BEA and the extended analysis suggest that the BEA identified intervention supported participants’ acquisition of their targeted facts but performance on maintenance and generalization to inverse and division problems was mixed. Results from this study provide support for the use of BEA to efficiently identify effective multiplication fact interventions for individual students.