KEY STRATEGIES FOR MATHEMATICS INTERVENTIONS

Interventionists’ Clientele Students who may have trouble learning at the same pace as the rest of the class Students who may need alternative ways of looking at the content Students who may have learning disabilities

Professional Knowledge To be effective as an interventionist, you must know: Details of each CCSS (knowledge, skill, problem-solving) Learning progressions for each topic Use of diagnostic assessments Research-based teaching strategies Multiple approaches to proficiency These are the learning goals for today’s session.

Intervention Programs To be a good consumer, you must have the professional knowledge to judge which are adequate, and when they need to be adapted. Many are available, few are listed on the What Works Clearinghouse. See our wikiwiki

Strategies work in unison Underlying structure of word problems Mathematical practices: reasoning and problem- solving Visual representations Explicit teaching with practice, feedback and cumulative review Use of C-R-A Motivation

An example Multi-digit addition and subtraction CCSS Learning progressions Diagnostic assessments Teaching strategies Multiple approaches

CCSS concrete models drawings strategies mentally find… explain the reasoning, explain why… place value properties of operations relationship between addition and subtraction fluently add and subtract use algorithms Your interpretations:

Learning Progressions 1 st -Joining, separating and comparing problems within 20. Demonstrate fluency within 10. Add and subtract special cases within nd -Fluently add and subtract within 20. Solve problems fluently within rd -Add and subtract within 1000 using strategies and a range of algorithms. 4 th -Fluently add and subtract multi-digit numbers using the standard algorithms. (up through 1,000,000)

Diagnostic Assessments See the wikiwiki

Teaching Strategies C-R-A 1. Mental strategies 2. Concrete objects 3. Visual Representations 4. Abstract symbolic procedures (Algorithms) Objects-Pictures-Symbols Underlying structure of word problems Mathematical practices: reasoning and problem- solving Visual representations Explicit teaching with practice, feedback and cumulative review Use of C-R-A Motivation

Multi-digit Problems 1. Joining, result unknown Our school has 34 fish in its aquarium. The 3 rd grade class bought 15 more fish to add to the aquarium. Now how many fish are in the aquarium? 2. Part-part-whole There were 28 girls and 35 boys on the playground at recess. How many children were there on the playground at recess? Underlying structure of word problems

3. Separating, result unknown Peter had 28 cookies. He ate 13 of them. How many did he have left? Write this as a number sentence: 28 – 13 = ____ There were 53 geese in the farmer’s field. 38 of the geese flew away. How many geese were left in the field? 4. Comparing two amounts (height, weight, quantity) There are 18 girls on a soccer team and 5 boys. How many more girls are there than boys on the soccer team?

3. Part-whole where a part is unknown There are 23 players on a soccer team. 18 are girls and the rest are boys. How many boys are on the soccer team? 4. Distance between two points on a number line (difference in age, distance between mileposts) Misha has 34 (27) dollars. How many dollars does she have to earn to have 47 (42) dollars? 18? 23 Visual representations

Children’s Strategies There were 28 girls and 35 boys on the playground at recess. How many children were there on the playground at recess?  Strategies: See Handout Incrementing by tens and then ones, Combining tens and ones, Compensating. C-R-A 1. Mental strategies 2. Concrete objects 3. Visual Representations 4. Abstract symbolic procedures (Algorithms) Objects-Pictures-Symbols Mathematical practices: reasoning and problem-solving

Number Talks A classroom method for developing understanding, skillful performance and generalization

Development of Algorithms The C-R-A approach is used to develop meaning for algorithms. Without meaning, students can’t generalize the algorithm to more complex problems. Explicit teaching with practice, feedback and cumulative review Visual representations

Recommendation 3: Instruction during the intervention should be explicit and systematic. This includes providing models of proficient problem solving, verbalization of thought processes, guided practice, corrective feedback, and frequent cumulative review.

Strategies are Braided Recommendation 8. Include motivational strategies in tier 2 and tier 3 interventions. Reinforce or praise students for their effort and for attending to and being engaged in the lesson. Consider rewarding student accomplishments. Allow students to chart their progress and to set goals for improvement. Underlying structure of word problems Mathematical practices: reasoning and problem- solving Visual representations Explicit teaching with practice, feedback and cumulative review Use of C-R-A Motivation

Alternative Algorithms Adding: Partial sums Subtracting: Add ten Multiple approaches to proficiency

Practice vs. Drill Practice usually involves word problems that draw out strategies. Students get good at using the strategies through practice. Strategies may include algorithms. Drill usually doesn’t involve word problems. It is repetitive work that solidifies a student’s proficiency with a given strategy or procedure.

Typical Learning Problems Always start by determining what the student is doing correctly.

Multiplication Visual representations

Multiplication C-R-A Visual representations translate to symbolic

Learning Progression

Multiplication with decimals

Estimate: 1.4 x 1.3 is somewhere between 1 and 2 Distributive Property: 1.4 x 1.3 = (1.4 x 1) + (1.4 x 0.3) 1.4 x 1 = x 0.3 = 1 x x 0.3 = Answer is x

Multiplication with Fractions

What problem does this illustrate?

Middle School Examples Leroy paid a total of $23.95 for a pair of pants. That included the sales tax of 6%. What was the price of the pants before the sales tax? Pretend you’re the students and solve this in groups of 3. Explain your reasoning to each other. What can you explain about your own thinking that would help a struggling learner? What methods can you teach explicitly that a student might not figure out on their own?

Leroy paid a total of $23.95 for a pair of pants. That included the sales tax of 6%. What was the price of the pants before the sales tax? Label a variable: Let c = cost of the pants. Understand that 6% is not of the total cost, but 6% of the cost of the pants: 6% of c (.06)∙c Write an equation: The cost of the pants c plus the sales tax (.06)∙c equals the TOTAL COST ___________ This is where your professional judgment comes in. If you tell the student what equation to write, they’ll come to depend on you to always tell them. c.06c

Create two problems similar to the previous one that allow students to transfer what they’ve learned to the new problem. Underlying structure: Join problem __ + tax = Leroy paid a total of $23.95 for a pair of pants. That included the sales tax of 6%. What was the price of the pants before the sales tax?

Division of whole numbers Visual representation: Partitioning 354 photos to share among 3 children

Partitive Division 354 ÷ 3 ( ) ÷ 3 = r

Measurement Division Also called repeated subtraction Our class baked 225 cookies for a bake sale. We want to put them in bags with 6 in each bag. How many bags can we make? 225 – 60 = bags 165 – 60 = bags 105 – 60 = bags 45 – 30 = 15 5 bags 15 – 12 = 3 2 bags 37 bags with 3 cookies left over

Division with Fractions

Strategies work in unison Underlying structure of word problems Mathematical practices: reasoning and problem- solving Visual representations Explicit teaching with practice, feedback and cumulative review Use of C-R-A Motivation

Professional Knowledge To be effective as an interventionist, you must know: Details of each CCSS (knowledge, skill, problem-solving) Learning progressions for each topic Use of diagnostic assessments Research-based teaching strategies Multiple approaches to proficiency