Using a Virtual Manipulative Intervention Package to Support Maintenance in Teaching Subtraction with Regrouping to Students with Developmental Disabilities.

Park et al. (2020) tested a virtual-representational-abstract (VRA) package on four students with developmental disabilities. The team used an iPad app with base-ten blocks, then moved to drawing pictures, then to numbers only. They faded help step-by-step while kids solved subtraction with regrouping problems. A multiple-baseline design across students showed when each child started the program.

All four students learned to subtract with regrouping and kept the skill for six weeks with no extra practice. Accuracy jumped after the virtual stage and stayed high even after the teacher removed all blocks and pictures. The gains held without booster sessions.

Yakubova et al. (2022) used virtual blocks too, but taught an autistic preschooler online through Zoom. Both studies show digital manipulatives work; the newer paper extends the idea to telehealth and younger kids. Saunders et al. (2016) warned that big fading steps can lock in errors. Jiyoon’s team used tiny steps, matching that earlier advice. Petras (1994) first showed fading high-probability requests kept compliance for 16 weeks. The new math study echoes that long maintenance, but with academic skills instead of behavior.

You can copy this VRA sequence tomorrow. Start with an app that lets kids drag base-ten blocks. Once they score 90% for two sessions, switch to quick sketches. Finally, go to numbers only. Track each step on a datasheet. The fading order keeps math facts stuck in long-term memory without weekend review.