Bootstrapping: The Emergent Technological Practices of Post-secondary Students with Mathematics Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Drawn from an investigation of the emergent technological practices ofpost-secondary students with mathematics learning disabilities, this casestudy employs an enactivist framework in considering the bootstrappingprocesses our participants report engaging in when using personalelectronic devices for academic support. Video-recorded, semi-structuredinterviews were conducted with nine post-secondary participants withmathematics learning disabilities in two western Canadian urban centres.Findings suggest that participants used technology to control and improvesensory input in order to better access mathematics course content andmonitor the accuracy of their work, engage with alternate presentations ofmathematical concepts to enhance their level of understanding, reduceworkload, and improve organization. We discuss how their strategies inusing technology relate to Bereiter’s categorization of bootstrappingresources (1985), including imitation, chance by selection, learning supportsystems, and piggybacking. Grounded in a “learner’s perspective,” thiscase study identifies technological adaptations and strategies that may behelpful to others with mathematics learning disabilities