A concrete-semiconcrete-abstract (CSA) instructional approach derived from discovery learning (DIS) was embedded in a direct instruction (DI) methodology to teach eight elementary students with math disabilities. One-minute abstract-level probes were the primary metric used to assess student performance on subtraction problems (minuends 0-9). A…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a Direct Instruction (DI) flashcard system paired with a math racetrack to teach basic multiplication facts to two elementary students diagnosed with learning disabilities. The study was conducted in a resource room which served intermediate aged elementary students. The school was located…

To promote student learning in a relearning situation in university-level mathematics, we developed the learning method TAU ("Think Ask Understand"). TAU provides support (i.e. a role script) for students' interaction during a collaborative problem-solving phase at the beginning of the learning process, while content-related instruction is delayed…

Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS), a technology-based mathematics curriculum, was piloted in the 2012-2013 school year at a Minnesota rural public middle school. The goal was to find an equivalent or more effective mathematics teaching method than traditional direct instruction. The purpose of this quantitative study was to…

Fractions are an essential foundational skill for future mathematics success (NMAP, 2008). The purpose of this article was to review current instructional practices for teaching fractions to struggling learners and to examine the quality and effectiveness of contemporary research with a view to indicating directions for future research. A…

Web-based learning tools (WBLTs), also known as learning objects, have been evaluated with a wide range of metrics, but rarely with respect to pedagogical design. The current study evaluated the impact of instructional architecture (direct instruction vs. constructive-based) on middle (n = 333) and secondary (n = 389) school student attitudes…

The widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards (2010) has caused mathematics and special educators to reconsider instructional methods. The Common Core introduces eight Standards for Mathematical Practice that outlines the dispositions that should be fostered in students. Most notable are those that push students to analyze problems,…

In a study with ninth-grade mathematics students on learning the concept of variance, students experienced either direct instruction (DI) or productive failure (PF), wherein they were first asked to generate a quantitative index for variance without any guidance before receiving DI on the concept. Whereas DI students relied only on the canonical…

This document presents a review of evidence commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation to inform the guidance document "Improving Mathematics in Key Stages Two and Three" (Education Endowment Foundation, 2017). The review draws on a substantial parallel study by the same research team, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, which…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of explicit, direct, and generative strategy training and working memory capacity (WMC) on mathematical word problem-solving accuracy in elementary schoolchildren. In this study, children in third grade ("N" = 82) identified as at risk for math difficulties (MD) were randomly…

Early intervention is key to preventing academic failure and referral to special education. General educators are responsible for providing primary instruction for students at risk for failure; however, the training they receive related to specific instructional strategies for these students is often insufficient (e.g., 1-day workshops).…

The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive review of the published research-based strategies used in content area instruction for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Twenty-eight (N = 28) studies published from 2000-2012 that met the criteria for inclusion were located, reviewed, and synthesized. Findings revealed the…

Direct instruction, an approach that is becoming familiar to Queensland schools that have high Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, has been gaining substantial political and popular support in the United States of America [USA], England and Australia. Recent examples include the No Child Left Behind policy in the USA, the British…

The perception of high school special education math students and their teachers regarding the collaboration and provision of specially designed instruction was explored in this qualitative study. The theoretical framework proposed that a balance between constructivism and direct instruction within a student-centered classroom would encourage…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group study was to test theories of constructivism and motivation, along with research-based teaching practices of differentiating instruction and instructing within a child's Zone of Proximal Development, in measuring the effect of computer-aided instruction on fifth grade students'…