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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Educ.
Sec. Special Educational Needs
Volume 9 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1484921

Teaching basic computer programming to young adults with intellectual disability

Provisionally accepted
Maria Agatina Stimoli Maria Agatina Stimoli Francesco Domenico Di Blasi Francesco Domenico Di Blasi *Silvestro Maccarrone Silvestro Maccarrone Angela Antonia Costanzo Angela Antonia Costanzo Paola Occhipinti Paola Occhipinti Serafino Buono Serafino Buono
  • IRCCS Oasi Maria SS, Troina, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Teaching computer programming can be challenging, especially for individuals with Intellectual Disability (ID) who exhibit a wide range of learning abilities and behavioral characteristics. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention designed to teach computer programming skills to individuals with ID.Method: Four women with ID, aged 27 to 54, were selected to participate in the study.Participants were taught computer programming using authoring software to create multimedia educational activities. A discrete trial teaching (DTT) approach was employed to teach specific skills and to gradually fade prompts to promote independent learning. A multiple-probe design across subjects was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. This design involved a baseline phase, a training phase with a most-to-least prompting procedure, and a one-month follow-up phase to assess skill maintenance.The results demonstrated that all participants were able to acquire the necessary programming skills and complete the assigned tasks independently.Computer programming can provide valuable learning and development opportunities for individuals with ID. However, it is essential to tailor the instruction to individual needs and provide appropriate support.

    Keywords: Intellectual Disability, Explicit instruction, Software authoring tool, inclusion, Teaching

    Received: 22 Aug 2024; Accepted: 14 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Stimoli, Di Blasi, Maccarrone, Costanzo, Occhipinti and Buono. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Francesco Domenico Di Blasi, IRCCS Oasi Maria SS, Troina, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.