Effects of Digital Manipulative Activities on the Foundational Literacy Skills of SPED Learners
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Abstract
Background and Aim: In Special Education (SPED), learners often require tangible and multisensory teaching methods to acquire foundational skills. This quasi-experimental study aimed to determine the effects of digital manipulative activities on the foundational literacy skills—letter recognition, letter-sound association, and color recognition—of SPED learners.
Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a control group was employed. Fifty SPED learners from a public school SPED Center in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, participated in the study. They were divided into an experimental group (n = 25) and a control group (n = 25). The experimental group received instruction using digital manipulatives, while the control group received traditional instruction using flashcards, worksheets, and teacher-directed activities. A teacher-validated 30-item test was administered as a pretest and posttest to both groups. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired-sample t-tests, and independent samples t-tests.
Results: Both groups had comparable pretest scores (experimental: M = 11.3, SD = 2.39; control: M = 10.7, SD = 3.68), both falling under "Needs Improvement." After the six-week intervention, the experimental group achieved a mean score of 23.0 (SD = 2.87), corresponding to "Very Good," while the control group obtained a mean score of 16.8 (SD = 4.03), corresponding to "Fair." Both groups showed significant within-group improvements (experimental: t = -12.19, p < .001; control: t = -6.69, p < .001). More importantly, the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group at posttest (t = 6.23, p < .001), with a mean difference of 6.16 points.
Conclusion: Digital manipulatives are significantly more effective than traditional instruction in improving foundational literacy skills of SPED learners. These findings support integrating digital tools into SPED curricula and inform inclusive education policy in the Philippines.
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