Quantitative methods for enhancing the teaching of manual skills to students with learning difficulties

Abstract

This article investigates whether the use of instruments providing quantifiable force feedback in manual skill learning can assist students with learning difficulties. Under the same theoretical teaching model, one group (intervention group, n = 10) received education with quantitative force feedback for manual skills, while the other group received traditional teaching methods (control group, n = 18). After conducting Levene's test to assess homogeneity of variances, t-tests were performed to compare point grades, and Mann–Whitney tests were used to compare rating grades between the groups. There is a significant difference in the point grades of the intervention group compared to the control group (p < 0.05), and also a significant difference in the rating evaluation grades (p < 0.05). Under the guidance of teachers, the application of feedback instruments providing a ‘time-force profile’ allows for the quantification of manual skill force, reinforcing students' practice of ‘force control’, leading to an enhancement in the manual skill proficiency of students with learning difficulties.