Effective Mathematics Instrcution for Children with Learning Problems

Presenter Information

Shu-Fei Tsai

Document Type

Oral Presentation

Campus where you would like to present

SURC 137B

Start Date

17-5-2012

End Date

17-5-2012

Abstract

Math is an essential component of school and life success. However, not every child learns how to communicate math ideas in real life. According to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, 2011), almost one fifth of students in 4th and 8th grades are below a basic level of math achievement. The situation is even worse for students with special needs (Wagner and Blackorby, 1996). To raise students’ performance, we need to emphasize effective math instruction. One effective strategy is concrete-representational-abstract instruction (CRA). A body of research demonstrated that CRA instruction can help students learn subtraction with regrouping (Flores, 2009), math facts (Mercer and Miller, 1992), and basic algebra (Maccini and Ruhl, 2000). CRA instruction is built on the work of Bruner and consists of three parts, each building on the previous step to promote student learning and retention (Witzel, Riccomini, and Schneider, 2008). In concrete instruction, manipulatives are used to enhance students’ conceptual understanding. When students master the concrete level, pictorial representations of the same math concept are introduced. Last, students use math symbols to solve problems (Morin and Miller, 1998; Witzel, Mercer, and Miller, 2003). This presentation will: •Describe major characteristics of students who struggle with math. •Introduce CRA instruction. •Discuss key issues related to the design of CRA instruction.

Faculty Mentor(s)

Shu-Fei Tsai

Additional Mentoring Department

Education

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May 17th, 8:30 AM May 17th, 8:50 AM

Effective Mathematics Instrcution for Children with Learning Problems

SURC 137B

Math is an essential component of school and life success. However, not every child learns how to communicate math ideas in real life. According to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, 2011), almost one fifth of students in 4th and 8th grades are below a basic level of math achievement. The situation is even worse for students with special needs (Wagner and Blackorby, 1996). To raise students’ performance, we need to emphasize effective math instruction. One effective strategy is concrete-representational-abstract instruction (CRA). A body of research demonstrated that CRA instruction can help students learn subtraction with regrouping (Flores, 2009), math facts (Mercer and Miller, 1992), and basic algebra (Maccini and Ruhl, 2000). CRA instruction is built on the work of Bruner and consists of three parts, each building on the previous step to promote student learning and retention (Witzel, Riccomini, and Schneider, 2008). In concrete instruction, manipulatives are used to enhance students’ conceptual understanding. When students master the concrete level, pictorial representations of the same math concept are introduced. Last, students use math symbols to solve problems (Morin and Miller, 1998; Witzel, Mercer, and Miller, 2003). This presentation will: •Describe major characteristics of students who struggle with math. •Introduce CRA instruction. •Discuss key issues related to the design of CRA instruction.