Milwaukee Public Schools University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Alliance for Teaching Mathematics to Special Education Learners Strengthening Content Knowledge and Collaboration of General and Special Education Teachers Milwaukee Public Schools University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Math and Science Partnership Meeting Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction October 19, 2010

Vision Improve mathematics performance for students in grades 4–9, particularly for students with special needs and for students who struggle, and Support a school culture for collaboration of general and special education teachers on improving math learning for all students.

Goals To strengthen the mathematics content knowledge of general and special education teachers; To enhance mathematics instructional and assessment practices, focusing on appropriate accommodations and modifications for special education students; To increase collaboration on math instruction between general and special education teachers.

Project Overview

Project Staff UWM Mathematics UWM Mathematics Education Kevin McLeod UWM Mathematics Education DeAnn Huinker UWM Special Education Judy Winn MPS Teachers and Specialists Melissa Hedges, Math Teaching Specialist Chris Guthrie, Special Education Teacher Beth Schefelker, Math Teaching Specialist Mary Spidell, Special Education Supervisor

Project Timeline

Participants Year I – 35 participants Certification General Ed 9 Special Ed 19 Other 7 Teaching experience 1-16+ years 7-9 28.6% 0-3 22.9% Grade Levels Elementary 12 Middle 13 Both 10 Other: 5 MTL, 2 DT, one Math co-teacher, one math resource Lost 4 Year 2: lost 3 and gained 2

Year 1 Met 19 Tuesdays January through July Focus Numbers and Operations Barriers to learning mathematics Language, visual perception, behavior Scaffolded instruction to address barriers

Projects/Assignments Year 1 Case Study Exams Homework Year 2 Resource Binder Tricky Triangles Data Collection Collaboration Project Talk about graduate project

Evaluation Evaluation 1. Content Knowledge What is the impact on teachers' math knowledge for teaching? Are there differential effects on general education versus special education teachers? Evaluation 2. Practice What is the impact on teachers' perspectives on teaching math? What is the impact of the project on teachers' classroom practice? Evaluation 3. Collaboration What changes are observed in collaborative practices of general and special education teachers as a result of project participation? Student Achievement What is the impact on student achievement in math, both overall and for student subgroups, specifically special education students?

Measures Content Knowledge Practice Mathematical Knowledge for Teachers (MKT) Practice Teacher Surveys Focus Group Informal probes Observations Collaboration Surveys Student Achievement WKCE Benchmarks

Content Knowledge (Numbers and Operations) Teacher NCOP Year I MKT Scores N Mean NCOP Score Standard Deviation Mean Gain Pretest 31 -0.12 0.98 0.45 Posttest 0.33 0.78 Comparison Group 86 0.05 0.76 NOTE: no statistically significant differences between gen and special ed prior to project and both impacted similarly

Practice Strategies Assessment I am now able to explain how to multiply and divide fractions and show it with a picture of fraction strips. I am also aware of a foundational base to begin with when teaching multiplication and activities to help with this. Strategies Being a regular education teacher, I rarely am forced to look at the individual needs of a student with a special education label. By closely examining the needs of my case study student, my eyes were opened to supports that will benefit both my special education and regular education students. Assessment

Collaboration Deeper assessment – meet the students where they are (From an MTL) adding special education teachers to her group and connecting them to the general education teachers Spiral curriculum: re-teaching when needed from prior year’s curriculum Finding out from other teachers in the school what strategies they are using What are you doing differently for collaboration efforts between special education, general education, and school administration?

Student Achievement Benchmarks Q2 – December, 2009 and Q4 May, 2010 Student Population Growth (Scale Scores) Math Alliance All MPS General Education Mean 15.06 12.76 N 359 28,658 SD 26.90 28.77 Special Education 20.51 15.12 141 6457 29.43 31.94 All Students 16.60 13.20 500 35,115 27.71 29.40 Seen in grades 4-7; grades 3 lower WKCE – higher proportion of students of Math Alliance participants are proficient in comparison to population of MPS (56 %to 49%) special ed 32% - 26%, general 66%-55%

Our Challenges Curriculum development Sparse special education math Little guidance in linking two fields Understanding philosophical differences Collaborative planning and teaching Ways to integrate the strands Challenges consistent with teacher collaboration literature – e.g., time, instructor content knowledge

Our Challenges Range of teacher content knowledge Linking project participants to student mathematics achievement results District data Roles of participants Attrition