the north carolina State Improvement Project

MATHEMATICS PROJECT

Welcome! We have designed this area of the website to provide information, resources and instructional tools to our statewide network of administrators and educators involved with our NC SIP Mathematics sites.

In addition to links to our upcoming events, this area will provide access to materials for our Math Foundations Trainings, both for participants and trainers.

Evidence Based Instruction

In October 2004, a group of educators from across the state began the process of reviewing and evaluating research related to evidence-based math instruction in special education. A rigorous review of studies using experimental or quasi-experimental group designs that included students with learning disabilities was conducted. The information gleaned from the research provided the conceptual framework for the development of the Foundations of Mathematics training.

The Foundations of Mathematics training has continued to evolve and includes the most recent research from Sharon Griffin, John Woodward, Liping Ma, Richard E. Mayer, the National Research Council, and others. This research indicates that number sense must be developed through a carefully sequenced set of learning opportunities in a scaffolded approach. Teacher modeling and student verbal rehearsal of that modeling is important in the pursuit of conceptual understanding. The use of visuals and multiple representations are other researched-based strategies that have been shown to support conceptual understanding.