Conceptions of Zero Among Students With and Without Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Zero is philosophically and symbolically interpreted differently from other numbers throughout the history, and is at the basis of mathematics although it is denounced as it represents nothing. In the current study, the understanding of zero of the students with learning disabilities (LD) and non-learning disabilities (NLD) were investigated. It is a multiple case study based on qualitative design. The participants of the study were six students, 3 students with LD and 3 with NLD, aged between 10-12 years. In the data collection that is conducted through clinical interviews, the meaning of zero as a number, its meaning of nothing, cardinality of an empty set, and its use as a symbol (place value-placeholder-digit) were examined. According to the findings that were obtained through content analysis method, it was observed that the conceptualizations of the students with LD and NLD regarding zero show similarities only in their use of the knowledge about symbolic contexts. The results were discussed considering the similarities and differences in the conceptions of the students with LD and NLD.