Preventing Mathematics Difficulties in the Primary Grades: The Critical Features of Instruction in Textbooks as Part of the Equation

Abstract

High-quality core instruction in kindergarten and first and second grade is critical to prevent mathematics difficulties. Evidence-based critical features of instruction should be part of core instruction and be included in mathematics textbooks. This study examined lessons from kindergarten and first- and second-grade basal mathematics textbooks to determine the extent to which 11 critical features of instruction were present. Overall, results showed an “Approaching Acceptable” rating, meaning that the features were not fully incorporated. Implications include the need for textbook adoption committees to be mindful of the importance of including effective instructional practices when making textbook decisions and for teachers to scrutinize the components of lessons to determine if these features of effective instruction are included.

Evaluating Three Elementary Mathematics Programs for Presence of Eight Research-Based Instructional Design Principles

“…Our findings also highlight the challenges teachers face in using current math programs to address the needs of students struggling to learn mathematics proficiently. In many ways, our findings mirror those of earlier curricular reviews (e.g., Bryant et al, 2008), which suggest that commercially available texts are falling short in serving as a foundation of effective core math instruction.…”

A Guide for Evaluating the Mathematics Programs Used by Special Education Teachers

“…Similarly, Bryant et al (2008) reviewed lessons from kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2 programs for presence of explicit mathematics instruction. One key finding was that that the programs failed to include adequate practice opportunities for students to apply newly acquired skills and strategies in the context of solving multidigit addition and subtraction problems.…”

Investigating Elementary Mathematics Curricula: Focus on Students With Learning Disabilities

“…Special education researchers have expressed some concern with the extent to which mathematics textbooks support students with LD; these researchers have noted a lack of instruction for teaching students how to effectively diagram problems, developing students' thinking skills needed for solving problems, and fostering the skills students need for effective participation in mathematical discussions (van Garderen, Scheuermann, & Jackson, ; Jitendra et al., ). The results of several textbook studies conducted by special education researchers suggested that traditional mathematics textbooks (i.e., textbooks with lessons involving primarily direct instruction and opportunities for students to practice the skills learned) are often missing key instructional components for students with LD (e.g., Bryant et al., ; Jitendra et al., ; Sood & Jitendra, ; Xin, ; Xin, Liu, & Zheng, ), including lessons designed to (a) improve students' reasoning about mathematics (NCTM, ), (b) develop cognitive and metacognitive skills about mathematical problems (van Garderen, ), and (c) teach students to utilize representations of mathematical ideas (Fuchs, Fuchs, Finelli, Courey, & Hamlett, ; Griffin & Jitendra, ; Xin, ). However, explicit instruction has often been recommended for students with LD (Gersten et al., ) and is common in traditional textbooks (Bryant et al., ; Jitendra et al., ).…”

“…While textbooks analysis studies have been conducted with attention to the ways in which the texts serve students with LD (e.g., Bouck & Kulkarni, ; Bryant et al., ; van Garderen et al., ; Jitendra et al., ; Sood & Jitendra, ; Woodward & Brown, ; Xin et al., ), sufficient attention has not been paid, specifically, to how mathematics curricula support the working memory needs of students with LD. There is a need for special education researchers to investigate how curricula provide support in situations potentially problematic for working memory (e.g., multi‐step problems) in which students with LD could be taught skills for diagramming and cognitive and metacognitive strategies or students with LD could be provided with opportunities to learn from sequential instruction (e.g., CSA) and from mathematical conversations (Cass et al., ; van Garderen, ; NCTM, ; Scheuermann et al., ).…”