Mathematics Strategy Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities

One of the greatest challenges teachers currently face with students who are struggling academically is how to provide access to the general education curriculum. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000) supports providing all youth equal access to mathematical concepts. However, students with disabilities in general, and those with learning disabilities (LD) at the middle school leoften have difficulty meeting academic content standards and passing state assessments (Thurlow, Albus, Spicuzza, & Thompson, 1998; Thurlow, Moen, & Wiley, 2005). Specificallstudents with LD often have difficulties with mathematics, including basic skills (Algozzine, O’Shea, Crews, & Stoddard, 1987; Cawley, Baker-Kroczynski, & Urban, 1992), algebraic reasoning (Maccini, McNaughton, & Ruhl, 1999) and problem-solving skills (Hutchinson, 1993; Montague, Bos, & Doucette, 1991). Many of these students struggle with how to (aapproach math problems; (b) make effective decisions; and (c) carry out the chosen plan (Maccini & Hughes, 2000; Maccini & Ruhl, 2000).

One effective approach to assisting middle school youth with LD in accessing challenging mathematical concepts is to provide strategy instruction (SI). This brief defines strategy instruction, identifies key features of effective strategies, and identifies key components necessary for instructing youth in the use of a strategy. In addition, we provide a practical example for the use of a math instructional strategy that can be applied to a variety of concepts and settings, and provide some key considerations when using strategy instruction mathematics classes.

A strategy refers to, “a plan that not only specifies the sequence of needed actions but also consists of critical guidelines and rules related to making effective decisions during a problemsolving process” (Ellis & Lenz, 1996, p.24). Some features that make strategies effective for students with LD are: 

(a) Memory devices to help students remember the strategy (e.g., a First Letter Mnemonic, which is created by forming a word from the beginning letters of or words); action verbs to facilitate student involvement (e.g., read the problem carefully); 

(b)Strategy steps that use familiar words stated simply and concisely and begin with action verbs to facilitate student involvement (e.g., read the problem carefully);

(c)Strategy steps that are sequenced appropriately (i.e., students are cued to read word problem carefully prior to solving the problem) and lead to the desired outcome (i.e., successfully solving a math problem);

(d) Strategy steps that use prompts to get students to us critical steps needed in solving a problem); and 

(e) Metacognitive strategies that use prompts for monitoring problem solving performance (“Did I check my answer?”) (Lenz, Ellis, & Scanlon, 1996).

Some strategies combine several of these features. STAR is an example of an empirically validated (Maccini & Hughes, 2000; Maccini & Ruhl, 000) first-letter mnemonic that can help students recall the sequential steps from familiar words used to help solve word problems involving integer numbers.

The steps for STAR include:

(a) Search the word problem;

(b) Translate the problem

(c) Answer the problem; and

(d) Review the solution;

Teachers can use self-monitoring forms or structured worksheets to help students remember and organize important steps and sub steps. For example, students can keep track of their problem solving performance by checking off (√ ) the steps they completed (e.g., “Did I check the reasonableness of my answer?” √ ).

Strategy instruction involves teaching strategies that are both effective (assisting students with acquiring and generalizing information) and efficient (helping students acquire the information in the least amount of time) (Lenz et al., 1996, p. 6). Student retention and learning is enhanced through the systematic use of effective teaching variables (Rosenshine & Stevens, 1986). That is, certain teaching variables (i.e., review, teacher presentation/modeling, guided practice, independent practice, feedback, and cumulative review) are both effective and efficient for teaching math to secondary students with learning difficulties ( Gagnon & Maccini, in press, for a complete description).