The Effects of Direct Instruction Flashcard and Math Racetrack Procedures on Mastery of Basic Multiplication Facts by Three Elementary School Students

The purpose of this study was to determine if a typical third-grade boy and fifth-grade girl and a boy with learning disabilities could benefit from the combined use of Direct Instruction (DI) flashcard and math racetrack procedures in an after-school program. The dependent variable was accuracy and fluency of saying basic multiplication facts. A single subject multiple baseline design across three sets of facts showed a clear functional relationship between the DI flashcard combined with the math racetrack procedures and increased mastery of multiplication facts. By the end of the study, each participant mastered all target math facts. Additionally, all three participants correctly generalized from oral to written without instruction on written math facts. Also, the students’ confidence in math seemed to grow as their mastery increased. The procedure was cost effective and required little training to implement.