Reaching Struggling Learners
Reaching Struggling Learners
#77: Unlocking Mathematical Potential with Evidence-Based Interventions
Ever feel like math gets the short end of the stick when it comes to educational support? Join me, Jessica Curtis, as I shine a spotlight on the shadowed world of math intervention, ensuring that students receive the balanced educational support they desperately need. In a realm where reading intervention takes center stage, I lead a charge to champion the cause of those wrestling with numbers. We'll unpack the necessity of foundational math skills, discussing how educators can identify and tackle deficits in students' understanding, from basic number recognition to complex geometrical concepts. This isn't just talk; it's a battle cry for action, urging teachers to spearhead effective math intervention strategies in their classrooms and ensure no child is left behind as they navigate the tricky waters of mathematics within the MTSS and RTI frameworks.
Data isn't just numbers on a page – it's the compass that guides our teaching strategies and the lifeline that connects us to the resources our students need. In this heart-to-heart, I walk you through "Five Steps to Progress Monitoring," a toolkit designed to empower educators with the know-how to track and assess student progress confidently. Through charts and observation tools, we look into how data informs decision-making and communication with parents and colleagues. As we gear up for a fresh start post-holiday season, I'll share insights on the strategic timing for implementing these interventions, seeking to foster a robust environment of growth and achievement in the classroom. So, take my hand as we step into the world of data-driven instruction and advocacy, ensuring every learner has the opportunity to excel.
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Links Mentioned in the Show:
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5 Steps to Getting Started with Progress Monitoring
When we talk about progress monitoring or MTSS or RTI, a lot of the time, most of the time, we're talking about reading, but there are so many kids, so many, that are struggling in math. The fact is, math is often the forgotten subject when we're talking about MTSS or interventions, so that's definitely something that we are going to talk about today.
Speaker 2:Hi, I'm Jessica Curtis of Teaching Struggling Learners. I'm a boy-mom and a veteran teacher. You're listening to the Reaching Struggling Learners podcast, where we talk all about helping students succeed academically, socially and behaviorally. Thank you so much for tuning in.
Speaker 1:Reading has been the main focus for many years for interventions. This is because there have been a lot of reading initiatives, which means there's been a lot of money earmarked by the government due to drop in literacy rates over time. And, let's be honest, you know that when we're talking about education, where the money goes, that's where the attention goes. So that's why so much of our focus and so many of our interventions, the money put into interventions, are going for reading. Schools are going to track and provide interventions based on where the money comes from. So so much money is tied up in reading and getting all those things set up. There are a lot of reading intervention programs. Let's be honest. The corporations see, hey, there's a lot of money that's earmarked for reading, they're going to put more money into finding different alternatives for reading interventions. So that means, unfortunately, because there just isn't as many initiatives for math, there isn't as much money that is assigned for math. Less money that's assigned for math means there's going to be fewer intervention programs. Now, I've seen a few probably honestly two or three math intervention programs, and none of them that I have seen are nearly as in depth as the intervention programs that have been provided for reading. In reading they're just about every curriculum company provides multiple options for reading intervention and it's usually a big box set. We will provide everything for reading, all the manipulatives and all the assessments and all the things. That is really rare for math. Math programs come in little pieces, bits and bobs here and there. Here you can help with this, here you can help with that, but it doesn't have the whole encompassing program that programs that reading usually is assigned Again, that's just because of that's where the money goes. The attention follows the money, because that's the world we live in, unfortunately, with the way education is right now.
Speaker 1:The fact is, though, as teachers, we know there are a lot of kids who struggle in math, whether the money recognizes that or not. So what do we do for the kids who struggle in math? Well, you know I'm going to go my step by step, because I'm not going to waste your time, because you have too much to do for me to waste your time. So the first step that you know I'm going to tell you to do is I want you to identify the most foundational skill deficit. All right, and, by the way, these steps what to do, for you know your students are struggling in math. I don't care. You can, you can quote me on this. I don't care if you're MTSS process, rti process, whatever you call it, if your process requires you to identify the students that are struggling in math or not.
Speaker 1:I have seen some districts who their focus is so, so little on math that that's not a requirement. It's not, it's not something that they make teachers. Identify the students are struggling in math and bring them to MTSS. If your school doesn't, if your district doesn't, okay, fine. I strongly, strongly suggest that you do this because you know it's the right thing to do anyway. Go ahead and identify those students. If you have a student that's struggling in math, these same processes, the same progress monitoring techniques are going to help your students. Whether you're going through the formal school based MTSS process or not, you can still do all of these things in your own classroom and you can cause some amazing results for your students, whether you're doing it in a formal administrative meeting or not. So I just want to put that out there, that you don't have to wait for your school to say now, we're going to be monitoring math as well. If they're not monitoring math, well, don't bet on them. We need to be doing some some good work with our students in math as well as reading.
Speaker 1:So, step one, no matter what, whether you're going through the MTSS process or not, the first step is going to be to identify the most foundational skill deficit. Now, that could be number identification, it could be place value, it could be addition, fluency, subtraction, fluency, multiplication, fluency whatever it is. And don't forget to look at geometry, looking at time, looking at money, looking at all of those other areas too. Just like with reading, just like with writing, when we talk about writing, we have to identify the most basic skill deficit, because there's no point in building up from a shaky base. So students who don't have good addition, fact fluency, they're not going to do well with multiplication. That's just the reality. I'll tell you right now a student who can't tell time is not going to be able to do elapsed time problems. This is all you know, all simple stuff. We know that logically. But when we're working in our classrooms and we realize, oh, our students aren't very good at adding, well, guess what? They're also not going to be good at adding with decimals. So we have to make sure that we go back and we identify the most foundational skill deficit the next time.
Speaker 1:Next thing we want to do is check on prerequisite skills for complete mastery. We don't want to move on with 80% mastery and I'll talk about this later in some later episodes. I planned for 2024 but guys, if students only know 80% of something, they're not ready to move on to the next step because they haven't mastered the previous skill. Yeah, they're confident with it and they're doing well in it, but they need to have that mastery so that they'll be able to master the next level. So, check prerequisite skills For students who are struggling with place value. Make sure that they understand. Hey, this is. Each of these columns means this much, and how many groups of 10 does it make to get to 30 and all those kinds of things.
Speaker 1:The prerequisite skills what are the things that the kids have to know to be able to understand this concept? Maybe they know it, maybe they conceptually know that two plus two is four, for example. I'm oversimplifying, but if they're not confident with it, if it's not just innate understanding with them, moving on to the next thing, of 2.2 plus 2.2 is going to be 4.4, they have to understand. 2 plus 2 is four, it all builds. We have to make sure that the prerequisite skills are at 100%, and if they're not, that's where we're starting, that's where we're going to be making our goal.
Speaker 1:Step three is we want to identify one or two ways to teach or practice that skill. Now, again, this can get a little bit more difficult because, unlike with reading, normally with reading I would say, okay, figure out, you know what are we going to. How do we want to work on that skill? No, right now, what programs usually are what the schools are talking about at this point? Math doesn't have that many programs. Unfortunately, there isn't. There aren't that many box sets and you may not have the ability to access a box set. So sometimes we got to work a little bit harder on this. Unfortunately, goodness knows, teachers don't need more work, but here we are. The school system hasn't provided it for us. So we're going to have to figure it out. We have to identify a couple of ways to teach and practice the skill. Now, manipulatives use those manipulatives figure out ways that they can visualize it in different ways. Those are some big ones for that.
Speaker 1:When you're trying to reteach and practice these skills and I will say right now that just doing daily fluency drills without reteaching the concept. That's not an intervention. Just like if you're doing reading interventions. If all you do is show the kids the sight words every single day and you don't help them go through them and learn them, you're not, you're not actually doing an intervention, you're just I mean, quite frankly, you're torturing the poor children, just showing them things that they can't do. We have to reteach the skills and then help them practice with them for it to actually be an intervention.
Speaker 1:Step four is you want to identify the items to use to progress monitor whether you're doing it weekly or bi-weekly. What tasks, what skills, what items specifically are you going to need, whether it's flash cards or drill sheets or whatever it is. Need to identify exactly what you're going to use to be able to progress monitor, to get that weekly or bi-weekly data so you know if your intervention, if your reteaching, is working. Number five is we have to actually follow through and collect the data to see if it's effective.
Speaker 1:With math, I'll be honest, the interventions it becomes pretty obvious, pretty quick if the intervention that we're trying is working or not, just because you see it when you're doing the practice. I mean, the same is true with reading, but a little bit less so. But honestly, that data and following through on the collection of that data is a really good way to show all the work that you've put in with that student and also possibly to advocate for more interventions, more manipulatives, more things that you might need in your classroom to say, hey, I'm putting in all this work. Here's the data to show that what I'm doing is working. If I can use X, y and Z, I could do it even better. That's one of the reasons I always say collect the data, because you never know when you might be able to use that data for your own good and the good of your students.
Speaker 1:And then finally, number six after six to nine weeks, you know the magic numbers decide if that goal that you've made has been met and do you need a new goal or do you need to revamp and figure out. Okay, maybe this isn't working, maybe I need to look at prerequisite skills again and get better at that. There's a lot of different answers that you know you might be giving for that, but with the data and all the information that you will have practiced with your student, you're going to be able to make some really good decisions based on the data that you can then back up and maybe advocate for more things. I don't know. So if you're getting into for the first time or you know, maybe you're just starting over and you want to do you know, feel more confident with it go ahead and download my five steps to progress monitoring.
Speaker 1:It's a literally it's a step by step guide to get started progress monitoring. It doesn't matter what subject area it can be reading, it can be math, it could be writing. Writing is a little bit more difficult, but we'll get there someday. But you can always download that. It is free and you can get some more information on how to get started. It's also got some data charts in there observation things, just literally everything. You need to get yourself started progress monitoring this week and well, don't do it this week because Christmas break is coming up, wait till January, wait till January. But in January you can get started and you can feel confident when you go into data chat meetings, when you talk to parents or just when you're looking at you know, your students and being able to figure out what kind of progress they're making for the year. In the meantime, may your coffee be strong, your students calm and your students and everyone else progressing Bye.