Maria is twelve years old and in the 7th grade.
She was an exemplary student throughout elementary school. A review
of Maria’s records indicate that she received grades of
"B" or higher in all of her classes from first through
fourth grade. Results of local and statewide standardized tests
administered in second and fourth grade indicated that she was
at, or above grade level in word decoding and reading comprehension,
written expression, spelling, and mathematics during these years.
Maria also excelled in her art and music classes, computer keyboarding
classes, and physical education during elementary school.
Although Maria experienced much in the way of
academic success during the first four years of school, her grades
in math provide evidence of a gradual and continual decline in
performance. The math difficulties that she brings into the 7th
grade began during the last grading period of fourth grade. Maria’s
lack of success in mathematics during late elementary and throughout
middle school stands in stark contrast to her performance in other
content areas and electives (e.g., art, choral music, physical
education) where she continues to excel.
Her 7th grade math teacher reports that Maria
performed well for the first 6-8 weeks of school, when the required
computation was relatively straight-forward. During this same
time period, according to her parents, Maria was able to complete
lengthy math homework assignments with little assistance and even
less anxiety. However, since then, her performance has declined
dramatically.
Maria’s current performance reflects a
superficial understanding of many math concepts such as fractions,
complex multiplication, and terms used in math (e.g., compare,
change, equalize, and combine). Her problems in math became especially
evident during a nine-week period when the teacher introduced
algebra. They also consistently recur when Maria must solve story
problems.
Maria has said, "I don’t even know
where to start solving a story problem. I just sit there and read,
read, read it while all of my friends read a problem one time
and solve it. So I just solve the problems by doing what I think
will work… and forget about problems with just letters and
no numbers except for those little ones just above the letters…
I don’t understand why I can’t do math, I get A’s
and B’s in all of my other classes and I could do math before…
I don’t worry too much about it, I guess I am just math
dumb… Besides, I fit better in a different world. How many
7th graders have sold pieces of artwork and acted in summer theater
like I have? I love that stuff!"
- Maintains A’s and B’s in all
content areas except math
- Seems to be an excellent reader and writer
- Can do math calculation when numbers are
given
- Has strong group of close friends
- Seems to have a good attitude about school
in general, and appears to keep trying in math class
- Has a good sense of self, and knows what
she does well and not so well
- Understanding of the technical vocabulary
associated with mathematics
- Conceptual understanding of mathematics
- Problem-solving approach to story problems
Talk to Maria about the difficulties she is
having in math. Make sure to address the growing feeling that
she is just "math dumb." Help Maria understand that
she is not "dumb," that she has a lot of strengths,
and that everyone can work together to help her succeed in math.
Develop a management plan with a balance of accommodations and
interventions, as well as an integration of Maria’s strengths
and affinities.
- Utilize Maria’s interests in art and
her art-work to introduce math concepts such as fractions (Considering
the blank canvas as a whole, how did you divide the whole into
pieces [fractions] in order to paint this piece of work?)
- In addition to supporting Maria’s acting
activities, give her the opportunity to work with experts in
set-design and construction, so that she will see math concepts
at work.
- Reading, writing, and remembering your lines
in a play are problem-solving activities. Ask Maria to list
the strategies she uses that work well in these areas. Help
her compare them to her math strategies. Discuss ways in which
strategies that work well in language activities and acting
may be modified for use in mathematics.
- Ask Maria to list the important terms in
literature, art, music, science, social studies, and math to
see if some of the definitions from other areas may be utilized
in math.
- Allow Maria to solve fewer math problems,
but require her to increase her accuracy when initially learning
a new problem-solving strategy. For example, instead of correctly
solving 50% of 20 math problems for homework, ask her to solve
10 problems at 100% accuracy. Increase the number of problems
over time.
- Introduce math concepts using semantic maps
that Maria fills in and keeps in her notebook.
- Have Maria keep a personal math vocabulary
and concept dictionary that she can refer to as necessary.
- Provide a math buddy to whom Maria can turn
when she needs help. Allow friends and classmates to help her
during class, so she can hear peers use math terms, and see
how they solve problems.
- Model math problem-solving strategies by
having teachers and other students talk out loud as they solve
problems.
- Make abstract math concepts concrete by using
manipulatives or computer software packages.
- Give Maria a problem solving strategy she
can follow for word problems, checking off each step as she
goes. For example, the letters SIR RIGHT stand
for:
- Start by reading the problem
- Identify all numbers (digits
and words)
- Reread problem and draw a
picture of diagram
- Reread problem again to find
the question
- Inquire "What do I have
to do to answer the question?"
‘Guesstimate,’ or estimate, an answer (use smaller
numbers if puzzled by large numbers)
- Have a go at computing an
answer
- Take a check back to see if the answer makes sense
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