BUILDING NUMBER POWERSTRATEGIES FOR

MATH INTERVENTION

Presented by Diane Burtchin

Adapted from the book “Math Intervention: Building Number Power with Formative Assessments,

Differentiation, and Games” by Dr. Jennifer Taylor-Cox

GOALS FOR THIS SESSION To fine tune our definition of math

intervention To discuss the four goals for learning

mathematics and to recognize the importance of each

To share important ideas for teaching math and for making math intervention meaningful

To walk away with some games and activities that can be used in your math intervention

WHAT IS MATH INTERVENTION? Please share with a neighbor your

definition of math intervention

Be sure to discuss at least three core elements of successful intervention

MATH INTERVENTION What is it?

It is targeted instruction for students struggling with mathematics.

This targeted instruction must focus on the precise academic needs of the students.

Intervention must have a focus on correcting students’ misconceptions and filling in learning gaps in ways that build their mathematical understanding

GOALS FOR LEARNING MATHEMATICS Accuracy- how to obtain the correct

answer Efficiency- how to obtain the correct

answer as quickly as possible Flexibilty- understanding how to apply

their learning to new situations and in different ways (adaptability)

Fluency- relates to the confidence and ease with which students work with mathematics concepts

These goals are interconnected

IMPORTANT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MATH Timing is very important- we can’t jump to

efficiency and flexibility too fast! Teaching rules and procedures isn’t the

same as teaching concepts! When concepts are ignored and the focus is

on rules and procedures, struggling students often develop misconceptions and learning gaps.

If students understand the concepts then we can help them increase their efficiency and flexibility by teaching rules and procedures. However, we MUST include reasons and connections to make this math meaningful.

FOCUS ON NUMBER SENSE Typically the problems that students

who struggle in math have relate to number sense and computation.

What is number sense? It is an expansive and inclusive

understanding of numbers and operations that allows a person to make sound judgments and utilize practical and effective math strategies (McIntosh, Reys & Reys 1993).

MAKING MATH INTERVENTION SUCCESSFUL1.) Instruction needs to be explicit2.) It is precise3.) It is focused on students’ immediate

learning needs4.) It applies the structure of RtI5.) Group structure6.) Quantity and quality of the tasks7.) Use of new strategies8.) Educator’s expertise9.) Incorporation of problem-solving10.) Student’s level of motivation

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT Within math intervention, there should be

formative assessment on a regular basis. It allows us to know what to teach, and it gives

us information about what a student already knows.

This will then provide us with the opportunity to adjust our lessons and instruction to match the needs of our students.

The assessments can take a variety of forms: paper-and-pencil, informal questioning, performance tasks, etc.

These assessments can actually save time because we know where to target our instruction rather than “wasting” time teaching everything

PROGRESS MONITORING Also extremely important for math intervention

and the RtI process Students also need to understand their progress Questions to ask:

Is the student making progress? What does the student need to learn next? How solid is the student’s understanding? Does the student need more work with a specific

concept? Is the student having difficulty maintaining and

utilizing specific concepts? What misconceptions does the student have? Where are the learning gaps? Is the student’s knowledge incomplete? If so, what is

missing?

RETEACHING This is often a key component of math

intervention Effective reteaching is not teaching the exact

same thing in the exact same way again and again

Reteaching in intervention involves identifying the concept and then presenting it in a different way

This may require the teacher to back up to previous content and skills in order to build prerequisite understanding (filling the gaps)

This may also require the teacher to find and address misconceptions in order to properly learn the new content and skills

NUMBER POWER ACTIVITIES It is critical to understand the concepts as

well as the progression of student learning Don’t focus on a particular grade level but

rather the level of understanding of the intervention students

Layout of activities: Formative assessment (for determining level of

understanding) Sample questions (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) Math game directly connected to a specific math

concept (many of them address multiple concepts)

Content differentiation ideas

A CLOSER LOOK Find a chapter that interests you Suggestions for each grade level:

KG- Ch. 1 Early Number Concepts (one-to-one correspondence, rote counting, rational counting, keeping track, cardinality, conservation of a number, subitizing)

1st- Ch. 2 Numbers and Number Relationships Concepts (representing numbers, more and less, equal and unequal, composing and decomposing numbers, understanding 10, ordinal numbers, even and odd, basic place value, basic fractions, estimation)

2nd and 3rd- Ch. 3 Addition and Subtraction Concepts (total and parts, counting on and counting back, joining sets, number line proficiency, various addition and subtraction strategies and problems, fact families)

A CLOSER LOOK (CONTINUED) 4th- Ch. 2 Multiplication and Division

Concepts (various strategies and problems for multiplication and division, arrays, perfect squares and near squares, fact families)

5th- Ch. 3 Multifaceted Number Concepts (expanded form, thousands and millions, properties, prime and composite numbers, multiples, factors, fractions, decimals, and mixed numbers)

WRAPPING UP Share one take away from today

regarding the structure of Math Intervention

Share one activity you would like to try with your students

Share any questions that might still have

Do we need a follow up to this session?