A Meta-Analysis of Technology-Based Word-Problem Interventions for Students with Disabilities

The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of technology-based interventions on mathematical word problem solving for students with disabilities. This study also assessed the quality of research based on What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) design standards. A total of 21 studies were included in the analysis. This study computed an overall effect and analyzed moderators of group design studies (Hedges’ g) and single-case design studies (between-case standardized mean difference) in the same analyses. The results show that the overall effect of technology-based interventions on word problems across 21 studies was large (Hedges’ g = 1.18, 95% CI = 0.84, 1.52). Additionally, the studies meeting WWC design standards demonstrated significantly greater effects. The moderator analyses indicated that certain study characteristics, such as publication years, settings, intervention agents, technology devices and types, and mathematics topics moderated the effects of interventions. The four studies that evaluated the generalization effect of the intervention using distal standardized assessments showed a near moderate effect (Hedges’ g = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.09, 0.9). Implications for future research and practice are discussed.