INVISIBLE BARRIERS
THAT DISABLE MATHEMATICS EQUITY AMONG NON-MAINSTREAM STUDENTS
Yolanda De La Cruz
Arizona State University West
Ydelacruz@asu.edu
Grant funding from the National Science Foundation and from the
McDonnald Foundation was received to inform how to provide teachers, parents,
and students with math knowledge among grades 1-4. This research has resulted in developing and writing mathematics
curriculum in both English and Spanish for grades one through four. We have many teachers piloting our
Children's Math World curriculum, which contains a strong family
component. We have 23 Arizona teachers
and 15 California teachers that are using our curriculum through the Arizona
State University West research team.
Findings from the research
involving teacher and family interviews and classroom video taping
Teachers do not receive enough training to know how to
prepare children that come to schools with many mathematics gaps. They rely on teacher manuals to help guide
them with students who are struggling to understand mathematics content only to
find that the teacher guide does not give enough information for serving the
needs of students whose ability level does not "fit" within the
narrow range provided.
Teachers need to know how to tap into the students’
knowledge base and make the necessary connections required to expand
knowledge. The problem is that many of
our students need to learn by having sub-steps that help link their knowledge
in the learning process. Textbooks do
not provide these sub-steps in their teacher manuals. Sub-steps make it possible for a wider knowledge range to connect
to the learning process.
Teachers who have used our Children's Math World curriculum
for grades 1-4 report that sub-steps have helped them teach math concepts more
effectively and are remarkably surprised that their "lower" ability
students are able to learn at a faster pace once
they understand a process they had been having trouble with.
Sub-steps offer multiple entry levels so that all students find ways of connecting their knowledge base to what is being taught. Incidents like these that expand student learning help to create boosts in teacher confidence and help to push them into seeking more ways to connect with all their students. We find teachers more willing to seek different methods that create similar results for all their students who struggle with the learning process.