The present study summarized three studies of schema-based instruction (SBI), a research-based Tier 1 mathematics program implemented in general education classrooms. We evaluated the efficacy of SBI in improving the mathematics achievement of seventh-grade students, including students with or at risk for mathematics disabilities (MD). The three…

Word problems require students to read a language-based problem, identify necessary information to answer a prompt, and perform calculation(s) to develop a problem solution. Solving word problems proves particularly challenging for students with mathematics difficulties because skill in reading, interpretation of language, and mathematics are…

Students with learning disabilities struggle with word problems in mathematics classes. Understanding the type of errors students make when working through such mathematical problems can further describe student performance and highlight student difficulties. Through the use of error codes, researchers analyzed the type of errors made by 14 sixth…

Educational research undervalues the experiences of people with disabilities, including those with learning disabilities and/or dyslexia, whom we call "insiders." In this study, we examined narratives pertaining to schooling from published memoirs and/or interviews with 30 insiders with learning disabilities or dyslexia. First, we…

Students with disabilities often struggle with grade-level mathematics without appropriate support and accommodations. This study compared the performance of middle school students with disabilities on computational-based mathematics assessments when they had access to calculators and when they did not. Using a single-case ABAB design, data were…

The authors completed a narrative review of studies of mathematics interventions from 1996 to 2010 for helping elementary school students with difficulties in mathematics solve word problems. Key instructional components supported by research are teaching cognitive and metacognitive skills; schema-based instruction focusing on semantic analysis,…

This article reviews recent research in math problem solving for students with learning disabilities. Two recently published syntheses of research on mathematics by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) are used as frameworks for interpreting this body of work. A significant amount of the work in special education over the last decade is…

This study compared how students with learning difficulties in math (MLD) who were randomly assigned to two instructional conditions answered items on problem solving tests aligned to the Common Core State Standards Initiative for Mathematics. Posttest scores showed improvement in the math performance of students receiving Enhanced Anchored…

The study explored the effects of a computer-assisted COnceptual Model-based Problem-Solving (COMPS) program on multiplicative word-problem-solving performance of students with learning disabilities or difficulties. The COMPS program emphasizes mathematical modeling with algebraic expressions of relations. Participants were eight fourth and fifth…

The purpose of this article is to provide teachers, tutors and parents with an effective and enjoyable approach to practicing reading fluency, increasing comprehension and encouraging the joy of reading, based on the theories and methods of Sally L. Smith. This method can be applied and adapted to individual student's needs. Sally Smith, the…

The benefits of multisensory instruction for teaching mathematics to students in resource rooms were explored. Participants were third and fourth graders (n = 12) in 3 resource rooms for replacement mathematics in a middle-class school district in New Jersey. The students received weekly instruction for several months, using manipulatives and word…

This is the first of two papers that develop a framework and encourage discussion of research and programmatic concerns on arithmetic word problem solving. The two papers include a comprehensive framework for expanding the traditional three to five sentence word problem into a scheme that assures problems will be of a variety of structures and…

Fourth-grade students (n=45) either with or without learning disabilities and achieving or not achieving at grade level in math were asked to explain strategies used to solve computational problems. Strategies were classified as reproductive or reconstructive (which varied in applicability and efficiency). Significant group differences were found.…

This article argues that the reason the mathematics performance of students with mild disabilities is so limited is the mathematics. Using illustrations from subtraction, the article proposes number sense be a primary goal and that within the realm of number sense, big ideas be included among the dependent variables. (Contains references.)…

This is the second of two papers that propose an expanded and enriched view of arithmetic problem solving by stressing the need to provide learning activities that include problems of varying structures. The first paper included a framework for the enhancement of text-based problems. This second paper proposes a scheme for the development of…