Enhancing Core Mathematics Instruction for Students at Risk for Mathematics Disabilities

This paper presents eight practical guidelines that teachers can use to make core instruction more systematic and explicit for students with or at-risk for mathematics disabilities. In the paper, we use the notion of explicit and systematic instruction as a foundation for intensifying core math instruction. Explicit and systematic core instruction includes sufficient coverage of the most critical content areas of math and reflects current research on effective math instruction. To illustrate these points, we describe the core kindergarten curriculum used in our research, the Early Learning in Mathematics program. We conclude by modifying a lesson drawn from a popular core math program to demonstrate how teachers can use the guidelines with their existing curriculum. This information is particularly relevant to special educators because they can support schools in enhancing the quality of core math instruction. (Contains 3 figures.)