Model Drawing Strategy for Learning Disability

Myung joo Shin (#19)

Rational and target students

who can get benefits from this
strategy:

necessary steps for LD students

who have difficulty to figure out
problem statement.

Students who have learning

disability (LD) are often facing
difficulty to solve some complex
problems such as word problems in
Math which is required to develop
multiple steps to find correct
answers. Structured and algorithm
flow chart drawing can be helpful
to solve math problems for LD
students.

Difficulty with self-monitoring

activity
LD students are usually
struggling to make a procedure to
solve problems, so practice to
make a procedure with step by
step process can help them to have
an organized and systematic
thought process for solving math
problems.

How this strategy can help

learning disability students
(which characteristics it will
help the student overcome):

Procedures for
Implementation:
1. Read the problem out loud
- Process to understand the
problem with students own
words
2. Decide who and/or what is
involved.
- What was the problem
about?
3. Draw a corresponding diagram
or picture based on the problem
situation.
- How many units do I have
to describe whole amount?
4. Reread each sentence and
identify the known information on
the diagram.

Difficulty with problem

representation
To solve math problem,
especially word problem, students
need to extract accurate
information from the problem
statement and get clear
understanding about what should
be answered for the question.
These are most important step to
solve problems and not easy tasks
for all students. Clarifying problem
and writing down what should be
answered for the question is

- Is there any unknown

information on the diagram?
5. Put in the question mark(s).
- What is the answer to be
find out?
6. Work computation.

- What expression or formula

students have to know to get
answer?
7. Answer the question.
- Ask question themselves
this answer is reasonable?

References:
Dennis, M. S., Knight, J., & Jerman, O.
(2016). Teaching High School Students
with Learning Disabilities to Use Model
Drawing Strategy to Solve Fraction
and Percentage Word
Problems. Preventing School
Failure, 60(1), 10-21.
doi:10.1080/1045988X.2014.954514
Hord, C., & Newton, J. A. (2014).
Investigating Elementary Mathematics
Curricula: Focus on Students with
Learning Disabilities. School Science &
Mathematics, 114(4), 191-201.
doi:10.1111/ssm.12064

<Example problem with procedure in Dennis,

Knight & Jermans article>

Maccini, P., & Ruhl, K. L. (2000). Effects

of a graduated instructional sequence
on the algebraic subtraction of
integers by secondary students with
learning disabilities. Education &
Treatment Of Children (ETC), 23(4),
465-489.