Project 2 - Math Intervention
Overview -
CLAS has always had a strong kindergarten through 5th grade elementary program. However, over the past couple of years we noticed that our students were struggling more and more in Math. Students were moving to the next grade level without mastering the content from the previous year. We also started to notice that those students who entered into our school in early elementary and continued through our program to upper elementary were outperforming students who were entering into our school after experiencing learning in a different setting. After careful review of our data (teacher observations, standardized tests, teacher developed assessments) the math teachers determined that we needed to implement a comprehensive intervention program in our school to help all of our students find academic growth and success in Math.
Developing a Math intervention program was a collaborative process. The teachers and I met to determine the needs of the students and how to fit a program into an already packed schedule with limited human and fiscal resources. I started the process by visiting two different schools that already had strong intervention programs. I listened and observed how they integrated their intervention program into their daily schedule and took from each program particular strategies that I believed would fit well with the vision of our school. The math teachers and I convened meetings and discussed the information I gathered from the two schools to determine how we could structure our intervention program.
Our intervention program started in February, 2012 and continued through May, 2012. All CLAS students participated in our Math intervention program in grades 2nd through 5th. Each student was placed in "sliding classes" that focused on specific skills. Students could move in and out of each class depending on mastery of the content. Intervention took place from Monday through Thursday for 25 minutes to review and enhance math skills needed for success in Algebra. Teachers used various teacher-generated activities and resources for student learning during intervention classes.
Our intervention program addressed the need for every student to receive an integrated and balanced instruction of mathematical proficiency. Every intervention class was set up to accomplish the following:
1. Conceptual understanding— comprehension of mathematical concepts, operations, and relations
2. Procedural fluency—skill in carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently, and appropriately
3. Strategic competence—ability to formulate, represent, and solve mathematical problems
4. Adaptive reasoning—a capacity for logical thought, reflection, explanation, and justification
5. Productive disposition— habitual inclination to see mathematics as sensible, useful, and worthwhile, coupled with a belief in diligence and one’s own efficacy. (Kilpatrick, et al., 2001, p. 11)
Kilpatrick, Jeremy, Jane Swafford, & Bradford Findell, eds. Adding it up. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2001.
Reflection -
Given our limited human and fiscal resources, I am proud of the initiative and work put in by the math teachers. They worked collaboratively and put together an intervention program that they believed would work for their students and fit into their schedule. I facilitated the process, but the intervention program was created by the teachers. They were focused on student needs and used the information I provided from my visits to other schools and multiple assessments to determined the best intervention program for the students. We are going to review all our data from this past year and redesign/enhance our intervention program for next year. Also, the math teachers and I are going to work during the summer to revamp our entire math program to provide real project based learning opportunities for our students with common benchmarks. This was a truly collegial and collaborative team and I am very proud of the way we pulled together to make it work for our students.
CPSEL Connection -
CPSEL Standard 2
– Utilize multiple assessments to evaluate student learning in an ongoing process focused on improving the academic performance of each student. (Teachers used multiple assessments, teacher observations, teacher created test, standardized test, etc., to determined the student needs in math)
CPSEL Standard 3
– Align fiscal, human, and material resources to support the learning of all subgroups of students. (Given limited human and fiscal resources, the team worked collaboratively together to create a math intervention program that supported the academic achievement of students in math)
CPSEL Standard 5
- Demonstrate knowledge of the standards-based curriculum and the ability to integrate and articulate programs throughout the grades. (Team was well versed on math standards and worked diligently to make sure students were meeting academic standards through the intervention program)
