Solving problems in context, also known as word problems or practical problems, is a challenge for students, especially students with disabilities. This is often because solving word problems requires students to read and understand the problem, identify relevant information, choose an appropriate strategy, solve the problem correctly, and ensure that the answer makes sense (Iris… Read More Spotlight on High-Leverage Practice 14: Teaching Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies to Support Learning and Independence in Mathematics
Rekenrek? What the Heck??
The TechKnowledgy Conference in April 2019 introduced many creative technology-based strategies to help students become successful learners. Beth Poss gave a wonderful session, Accessible Mathematics for Early Learners. This session reviewed accessible math manipulatives to help students build a foundation for mathematical thinking. One manipulative resource Beth introduced to the group was the Rekenrek. A Rekenrek is an arithmetic or… Read More Rekenrek? What the Heck??
Math Manipulatives at Your Fingertips
Math manipulatives are tools that can help students of all abilities explore and understand math concepts. As noted by Anstrom (2006), “selecting and accessing the appropriate tools and processes for students with disabilities is critical to their understanding of mathematics” (p.11). Whether concrete or virtual, manipulatives can be supportive tools for learning. Try it at… Read More Math Manipulatives at Your Fingertips
Using Storybooks to Teach Math
Our students who have intellectual disabilities represent a broad range of academic skills. Many such students are emergent readers and mathematicians who are working on pre-school or primary school-level concepts. With this in mind, let’s explore some pertinent research and resources related to math instruction. Existing research indicates that teaching basic math skills in the… Read More Using Storybooks to Teach Math
Using Visual Representations in Math Instruction
Teaching Abstract Concepts to Concrete Thinkers Students with autism are, generally, concrete thinkers, which can make teaching math skills difficult. As math work becomes more abstract, how can educators help these students build problem solving and application skills? Jo Boaler, Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University, reports that brain evidence supports the use of… Read More Using Visual Representations in Math Instruction
New Math Resources from the VDOE
The 2016 Virginia Mathematics Standards of Learning are now fully implemented and will be assessed starting in Spring 2018. The VDOE has resources available to support implementation of the 2016 standards. 2016 Mathematics Curriculum Framework Documents Updated Standards of Learning and Curriculum Framework documents are available on the VDOE’s website. The updated curriculum documents include… Read More New Math Resources from the VDOE
Are your students Writing About Mathematics? Or, are they Engaged in Mathematical Writing?
Teachers have received limited guidance about writing during math instruction (Casa, Evans, Firmender, & Colonnese, 2017). Because of this, it is important to distinguish between writing about mathematics and mathematical writing. Writing about mathematics prioritizes the learning of literacy; but mathematical writing emphasizes mathematical reasoning (Casa, et al., 2017). This type of writing includes text,… Read More Are your students Writing About Mathematics? Or, are they Engaged in Mathematical Writing?