Improving Student On-Task Behavior, Teacher Engagement, and Math Achievement through Blended Learning: A Single-Case Design Study

Students with high incidence disabilities in the public school system often perform multiple grade levels below their typically developing peers in mathematics achievement. These students exhibit lower levels of on-task behavior that limits their access to effective instruction, thus requiring instructional interventions that personalize learning, differentiate materials, and ultimately promote academic engagement. In recent years, the use of technology-mediated and computer-assisted instruction has shown to have positive results with students with disabilities. Blended learning, an intervention that combines face-to-face instruction with computer-based instruction, has been shown to improve the on-task behavior and achievement of students with disabilities. In this study, blended learning was implemented with three middle school students with emotional behavior disorders in a therapeutic setting in a large city in the southeastern United States. Using a multiple baseline across participants single case design, this study examined the relationship between blended learning eighth grade mathematics instruction and student on-task behavior, teacher engagement, and mathematics achievement. After exposure to the intervention through 21 sessions over 5 weeks, both student and teacher engagement increased with the use of station-rotation blended learning. Math achievement, measured through the AIMSweb curriculum-based math probes, improved for two of three student participants. Social validity questionnaires revealed that students and teacher enjoyed the blended learning intervention; however, continued use depended on properly functioning technology. Future research in the area of blended learning math instruction should strive to accurately measure on- and off-task behavior under the computer-based condition.