Mathematical Strategies

1. Polloway, E. A. & Patton, J. R. & Serna, L. & Baiely-Joseph, J. W. (2018). Strategies for Teaching Learners with Special Needs. (11th, ed). New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc. This course textbook offers numerous mathematical strategies to deploy in the classroom located in chapter 9 of the text. One such strategy is using mnemonics to guide a student's understanding in both multiplication and division. One example is using acronyms such as, "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally," for parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. Acronyms such as these help students use automaticity in solving math problems.

2. Hott, B. L. & Isabell, L. & Montani, T.O. (2014, December). Strategies and interventions to support students with mathematical disabilities. Council for Learning Disabilities. Retrieved from https://council-for-learning-disabilities.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Math_Disabilities_Support.pdf. This resource was created by three PhD holders and offers strategies that include mnemonic techniques, pre-teach vocabulary, and keyword approaches. Particularly, in pre-teach approach, (Silva, 2004) suggests using pictorial and concrete representations to emphasize the meaning of math vocabulary. Additionally, the authors recommend formatively assessing student's knowledge of glossary terms in the math textbook, and then teaching them the vocabulary that is unknown or incorrect.

3. Russel, G. & Chard, D. J. (2018). Number sense: Rethinking arithmetic instruction for students with disabilities. LD Online: The Educator's Guide to Learning Disabilities and ADHD. Retrieved from http://www.ldonline.org/article/Number_Sense%3A_Rethinking_Arithmetic_Instruction_for_Students_with__Mathematical_Disabilities. This webpage discusses many strategies for math instruction. One strategy I like is adjusting instruction to individual differences in mathematical development. A more specific sub-strategy of this is using what's called the "min" strategy. This means starting with the larger number first rather than the smaller number when attempting to find the answer. For example, direct students to start with "8+3" rather than "3+8". Acquisition of this strategy is an essential predictor of success in early mathematics.

4. (2017, September, 15). What are strategies for teaching a student with a math-related disability?. Disabilities, Opportunities, Internet-working, and Technology. University of Washington. Retrieved from https://www.washington.edu/doit/what-are-strategies-teaching-student-math-related-learning-disability. This resource gives a lot of math related strategies for students with disabilities, and is retrieved from the book, "Accommodating Math Students with Disabilities", by Rochelle Kenyon. One strategy involves assigning manageable amounts of work as skills are learned, and is similar to the "chunking" strategy. Another strategy mentioned is building skill retention of difficult concepts by reviewing the content within day or two of being taught.

5. (2018). Education: Learning Disabilities: Math Strategies. PBS-parents. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/learning-disabilities/types/mathematics/math-strategies/. This website provides 10 total strategies for students with learning disabilities. One strategy suggests giving students opportunities to play math games, such as using cards, dice, or on a computer. This will encourage automaticity with math facts and help the students learn in a fun environment. An additional strategy is listing common math errors on flash cards, and then allowing students to refer to the cards when completing assignments.

6. (2018). Effective strategies for teaching Students with math difficulties. National Council of Teachers with mathematics. Retrieved from https://www.nctm.org/Research-and-Advocacy/Research-Brief-and-Clips/Effective-Strategies-for-Teaching-Students-with-Difficulties/. This website lists the use of structured peer-assisted learning activities as an effective strategy. This might include pairing medium or high-level students with students who have learning disabilities. This would provide these students with learning disabilities extra assistance as they work through the math activity. Another strategy recommended is providing opportunities for students to think aloud while they work. This, however, might be more practical in a pull-out special education resource room than in a general education classroom.

7. Beyranevand, M. (2016, April 22). Teaching strategies: 6 ways to help students understand math. Edutopia. George Lucas Educational Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/ways-help-students-understand-math-matthew-beyranevand. One of the six strategies recommended is encouraging students to communicate their reasoning when solving problems. This can be expressed in both oral and written form, and can also be done with their class peers. Overall, this will help facilitate engagement and learning. The author recommends allowing ten minutes for this communication period to take place during each math lesson. The author further recommends finishing the math lesson with a summary and previewing homework together to avoid any confusion.