Bouck, E. C. (2010). The impact of calculator type and instructional exposure for students with a disability: A pilot study . Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal , 16 (3), 141–148. https://www.js.sagamorepub.com/index.php/ldmj

Four-function calculators, graphing calculators with instructional exposure, and graphing calculators without instructional exposure were examined with relation to students’ mathematical performance.

Eighty-four students in grade 7 from three different schools in the same area of a single state (U.S.) participated. Nearly 16% (n=13) of the participants identified as having a disability. Of these 13 students with disabilities, nine identified as having a learning disability, two reported an emotional disability, one student had ADHD, and one identified as having a mild cognitive disability. The vast majority (96.4%) of participants were white students.

Mathematical computation and word problems were used to assess the mathematical performance of students with disabilities and students with disabilities. Students’ performance in various conditions, including access to a four-function calculator, access to a graphical calculator with instructional exposure, and access to a graphing calculator without instructional exposure, was examined.

The type of calculator condition significantly impacted student performance on the mathematical word problem questions. Specifically, students who used a graphing calculator with instructional exposure scored higher than their counterparts who did not have access to this calculator. No differences were detected in performance, benefits of access to a calculator, or self-reported perception of calculators for students with a disability compared to those without a disability.