Meet us in St. Louis for this year’s National Conference! Join together with colleagues to learn more about updates to programs, participate in discussions designed to give

you real tools to take back to your school, share experiences, and hear success stories.

Get ready for the conference by attending the 2012 Pre-Conference. Special full-day sessions offer course-work for Extending the Framework through Multiplication and Division as well as continuing education for Add+VantageMR Champions. Have you ever asked yourself, “What are the Other Children Doing While I am Working with a Small Group”? If so, check out the information on this session and others included in the pre-conference on pages 1 and 2 of the program schedule at-a-glance.

USMRC is excited to share our top notch key-note speakers which include Dr. Michelle Stephan, North Carolina University; James Burnett, Origo, Australia; Dr. Charles Munter, University of Pittsburg; Dr. Fran Roy, Fall River Schools. The conference will also feature over 30 break-out sessions and a materials show case to take a look at classroom resources.

Although our focus and reason for being here is Early Math Development, we want you to know we haven’t forgotten about fun. Be sure to bring your baseball cap because the St. Louis Cardinals are playing the Pittsburgh Pirates at nearby Busch Stadium (just across the street!). In addition, the St. Louis Arch lies two blocks from the hotel. This year’s conference is being hosted by the Hilton at the Ballpark Hotel. Please visit the conference website for more information, to view the 4 day conference program at-a-glance and special hotel pricing.

newsletter

issue 15 n winter n 2012

Math recovery

What’s Inside:page 2

check out

conference discounts

• • •

avMr featured in

journal article

page 3

usMrc announces new

classrooM activity book

• • •

Math apps for the classrooM

page 4

conference keynote speakers

page 5

pre-conference line-up

page 6

Math recovery

prograMs in action

US Math Recovery Council • 205 Powell Place • Brentwood, TN 37027 Phone: 615-369-0700 • Fax: 615-369-0701 E-mail: info@mathrecovery.org • Web: www.mathrecovery.orgExecutive Director • Jenny Cobb • jenny@mathrecovery.org

G E N E R A L I N F O R M AT I O N

USMRC Programs in Action

a non profit organiZationw w w. M at h r ecov e ry.o rg

Business and Finance Manager • Tracy Fesler • tracy@mathrecovery.orgCustomer Service & Sales Mgr. • Stephen Chinique • stephen@mathrecovery.orgEvent Planning & Member Services • Christy Gentry • christy@mathrecovery.orgCopyright © 2012 by the US Math Recovery Council. All rights reserved.

printed on 50% recycled products To register online for the 2012 National Conference, go to: http://conference.mathrecovery.org

Math Recovery and Walnut SchoolAfter the principal of Walnut School became a Math Recovery In-

tervention Specialist (MRIS), she experienced first-hand the benefi-cial results that Math Recovery (MR) brings to at-risk students. She worked one-on-one with an identified child for MR intervention and mandated that we implement MR strategies in the classroom. Togeth-er we assembled a collaborative team consisting of the classroom teacher, special education teacher, one special education para-pro-fessional and myself, a Title 1 teacher/facilitator. She made changes in the schedule, blocked a one hour and 15 minute time slot for math intervention and made materials and resources accessible to the col-laborative group. A grant provided monies for collaborative planning.

All fourth grade students were assessed using an end of year third grade math curriculum assessment. Based on results of this assessment, special education and Title 1 students were placed in our collaborative team classroom. Regular education students were selected based on performance of subtractive tasks. Further assess-ments to identify strengths of all selected students were done. These assessments were similar to those given in Add+VantageMR. The students were divided into four groups based on the Stages of Early Arithmetical Learning (SEAL). As their arithmetical understanding de-veloped they were moved to different groups.

The collaborative team met once a week to plan for the following week’s lessons. Those lessons included FNWS; BNWS; numeral identification; counting on and off the decade forwards and back-wards; skip counting by 2’s through skip counting by 10’s backwards and forwards; structuring numbers to twenty, tens and ones. As the year progressed, strategies for adding and subtracting two and three digit numbers became a learning focal point. Student strategies were

recorded and dis-cussed with the whole class.

Small groups were implemented and stu-dents rotated through each group, facilitated by a team member. These small groups helped to solidify the “skills and knowledge”

pieces necessary for arithmetical understanding. Some of the set-tings included hundreds chart jigsaw; missing numbers on the hun-dreds chart; race to 100 or any number; “543” spatial patterns for subitizing; 5,10, 20 bead boards and ten frames; empty number line; grids to ten; build the largest number using arrow cards; counting through a century backwards and forwards.

The classroom teacher taught all other areas of the fourth grade math curriculum designed around the Wyoming State Standards As-sessment. These included geometry, graphing, time and money, esti-mating, fractions, and rounding.

Each child was assessed every two weeks. Skills listed and moni-tored were FNWS, BNWS, numeral identification, skip counting by 2’s – 10’s backwards and forwards.

Addition and subtraction problems were given in the last ten minutes of class. The strategies used by the students and their un-derstanding of these strategies were observed and recorded daily. Based on results, students were pulled together into small groups.

In the Spring, fourth grade students took the “Proficiency Assess-ments for Wyoming Students” (PAWS). Of the twenty four students in the collaborative team classroom, twenty were proficient and four were advanced on the PAWS. This is a loud proclamation as to the success and effectiveness of Math Recovery Strategies.

Join us for the 2012 National Math Recovery Conference!

Contributed by Doris Lehman, Sweetwater School District, WY

The multidimensional approach in USMRC’s Add+VantageMR (AVMR) techniques were featured in an article published in the November/December 2011 issue of Teach-ing Exceptional Children.

Educators Melissa Colsman, Karen Koellner and Rachael Risley explore the use of AVMR assessments with Danny, a fourth grade student struggling with math. Using the AVMR interview to augment the standard test data, they were able to clarify the student’s strengths and weaknesses which were not evident in standard testing alone. By identifying the gaps in Danny’s understanding of the components of number devel-opment and developing the skills he needed, the educators enabled him to raise his overall test scores. Subsequent testing showed that the student not only performed better, but also had a deeper understanding of basic math concepts.

The article emphasizes the need for assessment tools that explain a child’s under-standing of mathematical concepts in a successful RTI model. It goes on to further state the “essence of the (AVMR) assessments can greatly enhance classroom instruction at the universal level”. By using multidimensional assessments such as those in AVMR, a more cohesive structure can be created to support the learning process.

To read this article in full click on the link below, http://cec.metapress.com/content/n865800645ml3832/fulltext.pdf

Add+VantageMR Featured in Teaching Exceptional Children

The first edition of this series focuses on Early Numeracy: Addition and Subtraction.

With over thirty new activities, the book aligns with the AVMR program giving teach-ers a wide range of options when working with students. You can see the new book format and try the sample activity that is in-cluded with the newsletter.

Each activity includes a table at the top which shows the appropriate profile for each game and defines the instructional objective to help teachers plan their activities.

The spiral bound book has detailed instructions for each game and tips for making the game more or less difficult for the student.

The book includes every black-line master ready to copy onto paper or card stock.

Math Applications for Math Recovery

Math Recovery recognizes how teachers are supported when their administrators understand Math Recovery. So this year, the Math Recovery Conference in St. Louis welcomes school admin-istrators in a special way. When the administrator signs up for the conference with a teacher, the administrator receives a discount. The regular Member fee is $385 for pre-registration and $435 after February 29, 2012. The administrator discount holds the cost of the entire three day conference to $199 even after the early registration period ends.

Discount for Full-Time StudentsWe wish to extend a special invitation to College and University

students by offering 40% off the regular 3-day registration costs.

Group Discounts Have a group of 5 or more teachers or administrators who want

to come to the conference? For the 3-day conference or any pre-conferences, a group of 5 or more registering at the same time using one form of payment will recieve a 10% discount.

A Newsletter For Math Recovery Teaching Professionals

Learning doesn’t just take place from books anymore. Comput-ers, tablets and even a parent’s cell phone can become learning opportunities for children. Parents and administrators turn to edu-cators for advice. With all of the new programs available, keeping abreast of those apps that work with Add+VantageMR can be a daunting task. But there is a wide range of apps that mesh with

the USMRC programs.

Early numeracy is characterized by rec-ognizing and understanding the concepts that go with number words. Touch Autism has developed a game called Knock Knock Numbers. Children face a door and hear a knock knock. When they touch the door, it opens and the child hears a number word. The child sees two number symbols and

the word. When the child chooses the correct number symbol, he or she is rewarded with a knock knock joke and canned laughter. The app is available for iPhone and iPad.

Megan Kidwell, the MR/AVMR support for the Albuquerque Public Schools recommends Okta’s Rescue. This app is avail-

able for both Apple and Android products as well as free online play. In the game, students are presented with an array of small octopi arranged in random patterns. On the right side of the screen, the student sees a number and must touch the proper

number of octopi to match. As each creature is chosen, it flies over to the right-hand side of the screen and is arranged in a double array. This game reinforces pair-wise patterning.

Special $199 3-Day Registration for Administrators Add+VantageMR in Action Series Classroom Activities Connected to Formative Assessment

MultidimensionalAssessmentGuiding Response

to Interventionin Mathematics

Karen Koellner

Melissa Colsman

Rachael Risley

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Developing Number KnowledgeThe newest addition to the USMRC library is Developing Number Knowledge. This new release is the fourth book in

the series. It includes assessment and teaching strategies aimed at 7 to 11 year old students from structuring numbers one through 20 to early algebraic reasoning.

Visit the Store at www.mathrecovery.org and order your copy today at a member price of $35.20 (includes shipping).

The Chamberlin School, VT, team at 2011 Conference(L to R) Suzanne McKegney, Principal Judi Maynard, Stephanie Hockenbury

Special thanks go out to Creative Designer Kellie Merrill and Christina Miller who wrote the Introduction.

Order Now! Members receive a 12% discount on the $28.95 price but if you want to pre-order your copy now, enter “Pre-Sale 20%” in the discount code box on your order form and receive the book for $23 plus shipping.

For full details on all of these discounts, go to our website.

Teaching as Listening by Dr. Michelle L. Stephan

Posing questions and tasks is at the foundation of all Math Recovery programs. Have you ever thought about how you listen to your students’ responses? In this keynote address, Dr. Michelle Stephan will discuss three types of listening that teachers can engage in. The first involves listening to your students evaluatively; you are “listening for” a certain answer. A second way to listen to your students is to “listen to” their explanations. In other words, you are listening interpretively to insure that they have a meaningful way to solve a problem. A final way to listen to students is to listen hermeneutically or to listen without judgment; to listen with the intent of understanding their thinking and building on what they know to ask the next question. There are good reasons to engage in all three types of listening but Dr. Michelle Stephan will show how listening hermeneutically is crucial not only for the SNAP and Interventionist programs but particularly relevant in the Add+VantageMR classroom.

Dr. Michelle Stephan is Director of Special Projects, STEM Center University of North Carolina Charlotte. Prior to joining NC Charlotte, she was a professor of mathematics education at the University of Central Florida and a full-time middle school mathematics teacher in the Florida public school system. Her research has included investigating first, third, eighth and college students’ understanding of mathematics through collaborations with members of the Freudenthal Institute, in the Netherlands.

Evaluating Math Recovery: The Impact of Implementation Fidelity on Student Outcomes by Dr. Charles Munter

Dr. Munter was part of a Vanderbilt University research team funded by the Institute of Education Sciences that conducted a two-year evaluation (2007-2009) of the Math Recovery Intervention Specialist (MRIS) program. The study was conducted in 20 elementary schools (five urban, ten suburban and five rural), representing five districts in two states. The number of study participants totaled 517 in Year 1 and 510 in Year 2, of whom 172 received tutoring in Year 1 and 171 received tutor-ing in Year 2. In this session, the presenter will highlight key findings with respect to the implementation of MRIS and its relation to findings of the evaluation, and the discussant will address how USMRC can learn from this research in the context of strengthening current and future programs.

Dr. Charles Munter is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. His research explores the problem of instructional improvement at scale as a

matter of supporting teachers’ and others’ learning as they develop new forms of practice.

Developing the Essential Strategies for Multiplication and Division Facts by James Burnett

Simple visual aids and models should be used to help students form a mind picture that links to the thinking strategy. This session will demonstrate the use of these aids and show how the thinking strategies can be generalized and extended beyond the number fact range.

James Burnett lives and works in Australia and is President of ORIGO Education Inc in the USA. With more than 200 pub-lications to his name, James strives to lift the profile of elementary math through an essential balance of dynamic teacher training and the development of quality research-based support materials that support skills in thinking.

Jumpstarting Early Numeracy: Curriculum Reform in an Urban District by Dr. Francine Cabral Roy

This presentation demarcates the revision of an elementary mathematics curriculum that occurred in a struggling urban district, and highlights how Math Recovery programs and other research resources influenced this work. Initially the focus was on increasing the professional knowledge of mathematics coaches and teachers around how children learn mathemat-ics. As the coaches understanding of these knowledge bases grew, so too did the clarity that significant instructional change would not happen without an overhaul of the existing mathematics curriculum. There began a radical transformation away from pacing guides, a comprehensive reform program, and “standards” to a curriculum designed around big ideas and connected content, the teaching of which occurs developmentally and is supported by innovative rather than prescriptive resources. What are the key components of successful change on this scale? This presentation will share the challenges faced and highlight the methods and benefits of the supports put in place that resulted in student achievement that outpaced

state-wide improvement.

Dr. Roy is the Assistant Superintendent of Schools and Chief Academic Officer for Fall River Public Schools. A former secondary mathematics teacher and university educator, her scholarly works, includes several publications, focused on

teaching mathematics to urban youth. Recently she had a book chapter published in the NCTM publication, “Models of Intervention in Mathematics”.

A Newsletter For Math Recovery Teaching Professionals

Keynote Speakers Announced for Conference Get Ready for the Conference with Pre-Conference WorkshopsExtend your knowledge and choose from a variety of Pre-Conference workshops. Both full-day and half-day sessions are available to provide the widest range of learning experiences possible.

Full-Day SessionsExtending the Framework (ETF) – Multiplication and DivisionPresenter: Tina Silvestri (OH) This course completes the series of 6 Math Recovery assessments for the MRIS. Re-

search-based levels on the development of early multiplication and division knowledge and strategies provide the foundation for this course. Participants develop knowledge of assessment interviews 3.1 and 3.2 and examine instruction related to this topic from the book Teaching Number: Advancing Children’s Skills and Strategies. The pre-requisite for this course is a current MRIS designation.

Extending the Framework (ETF) – Leader CoursePresenter: Tina Silvestri (OH)

This course is comprised of attending the one-day ETF course for teachers and a session on Friday morning which is part of the conference. Leaders will then receive their professional development material and will then be eligible to present this course in their district.

Add+VantageMR Champion Continuing EducationFor those Champions needing to maintain their credentials or interested in new PD course material. It will include attendance at the morning

Leadership Skills: Coaching for Success session and afternoon Multiplicative Reasoning & Foundations for Add+VantageMR Course 2 session.

Morning Half-Day Sessions Leadership Skills – Coaching For SuccessPresenter: Lynsey Gibbons - Vanderbilt University (TN)

Discover how effective coaching relationships add up to improved mathematics teaching and learning. A mathematics instructional coach can be defined as an educator who works primarily with teachers, either as individuals or in teams, to improve student learning and achievement through improving teacher practice. How can individuals improve their coaching skills? What does the research say and best practices? How can mathematics specialists and coaches be most effective within an educational system? This session will look at the challenges of building sustainable teacher and leadership capacity, from a variety of perspectives.

Add+Vantage: What are the Other Children Doing While I am Working With Small Groups?Presenter: Patty Muck (MN), Jennifer Scholla (SD)

The goal of this workshop is to provide teachers with a pallet of options for implementing a small group component during mathematics instructional time. As Add+VantageMR teachers we have valuable Add+VantageMR assessment data on our students and using that data to inform our instructional decisions for the whole class can be a challenge. A combination of small and large group instruction is a valuable way to utilize Add+VantageMR data in the classroom. This session will address what the rest of the class is doing while the teacher is working with a small group of students and provide examples from two classroom teachers utilizing small group instruction in effective and different ways. Participants will leave with a resource packet to use in the classroom and designed for students independent work time during the small group portion of a lesson..

Afternoon Half-Day Session Multiplicative Reasoning & Foundations for Add+VantageMR Course2 Presenters: Rebecca Campos (NM), Amy Cook(MO), Megan Kidwell(NM), Christina Miller (MN)

Multiplication and Division concepts are an integral part of elementary mathematics and are foundational for more advanced math topics. Add+VantageMR Course 2 addresses Multiplication and Division at a level beyond just knowing the facts. This session will go deeper into chil-dren’s thinking and multiplicative reasoning, and extend to their proportional reasoning development. Instructional decision making based on multiplication and division assessment knowledge will be addressed in more detail. Instructional activities and videos will be shared along with

breakout sessions specifically for classroom teachers and Add+VantageMR course 2 teachers.

Charles Munter

James Burnett

Michelle Stephan

Francine Roy

Meet us in St. Louis for this year’s National Conference! Join together with colleagues to learn more about updates to programs, participate in discussions designed to give

you real tools to take back to your school, share experiences, and hear success stories.

Get ready for the conference by attending the 2012 Pre-Conference. Special full-day sessions offer course-work for Extending the Framework through Multiplication and Division as well as continuing education for Add+VantageMR Champions. Have you ever asked yourself, “What are the Other Children Doing While I am Working with a Small Group”? If so, check out the information on this session and others included in the pre-conference on pages 1 and 2 of the program schedule at-a-glance.

USMRC is excited to share our top notch key-note speakers which include Dr. Michelle Stephan, North Carolina University; James Burnett, Origo, Australia; Dr. Charles Munter, University of Pittsburg; Dr. Fran Roy, Fall River Schools. The conference will also feature over 30 break-out sessions and a materials show case to take a look at classroom resources.

Although our focus and reason for being here is Early Math Development, we want you to know we haven’t forgotten about fun. Be sure to bring your baseball cap because the St. Louis Cardinals are playing the Pittsburgh Pirates at nearby Busch Stadium (just across the street!). In addition, the St. Louis Arch lies two blocks from the hotel. This year’s conference is being hosted by the Hilton at the Ballpark Hotel. Please visit the conference website for more information, to view the 4 day conference program at-a-glance and special hotel pricing.

newsletter

issue 15 n winter n 2012

Math recovery

What’s Inside:page 2

check out

conference discounts

• • •

avMr featured in

journal article

page 3

usMrc announces new

classrooM activity book

• • •

Math apps for the classrooM

page 4

conference keynote speakers

page 5

pre-conference line-up

page 6

Math recovery

prograMs in action

US Math Recovery Council • 205 Powell Place • Brentwood, TN 37027 Phone: 615-369-0700 • Fax: 615-369-0701 E-mail: info@mathrecovery.org • Web: www.mathrecovery.orgExecutive Director • Jenny Cobb • jenny@mathrecovery.org

G E N E R A L I N F O R M AT I O N

USMRC Programs in Action

a non profit organiZationw w w. M at h r ecov e ry.o rg

Business and Finance Manager • Tracy Fesler • tracy@mathrecovery.orgCustomer Service & Sales Mgr. • Stephen Chinique • stephen@mathrecovery.orgEvent Planning & Member Services • Christy Gentry • christy@mathrecovery.orgCopyright © 2012 by the US Math Recovery Council. All rights reserved.

printed on 50% recycled products To register online for the 2012 National Conference, go to: http://conference.mathrecovery.org

Math Recovery and Walnut SchoolAfter the principal of Walnut School became a Math Recovery In-

tervention Specialist (MRIS), she experienced first-hand the benefi-cial results that Math Recovery (MR) brings to at-risk students. She worked one-on-one with an identified child for MR intervention and mandated that we implement MR strategies in the classroom. Togeth-er we assembled a collaborative team consisting of the classroom teacher, special education teacher, one special education para-pro-fessional and myself, a Title 1 teacher/facilitator. She made changes in the schedule, blocked a one hour and 15 minute time slot for math intervention and made materials and resources accessible to the col-laborative group. A grant provided monies for collaborative planning.

All fourth grade students were assessed using an end of year third grade math curriculum assessment. Based on results of this assessment, special education and Title 1 students were placed in our collaborative team classroom. Regular education students were selected based on performance of subtractive tasks. Further assess-ments to identify strengths of all selected students were done. These assessments were similar to those given in Add+VantageMR. The students were divided into four groups based on the Stages of Early Arithmetical Learning (SEAL). As their arithmetical understanding de-veloped they were moved to different groups.

The collaborative team met once a week to plan for the following week’s lessons. Those lessons included FNWS; BNWS; numeral identification; counting on and off the decade forwards and back-wards; skip counting by 2’s through skip counting by 10’s backwards and forwards; structuring numbers to twenty, tens and ones. As the year progressed, strategies for adding and subtracting two and three digit numbers became a learning focal point. Student strategies were

recorded and dis-cussed with the whole class.

Small groups were implemented and stu-dents rotated through each group, facilitated by a team member. These small groups helped to solidify the “skills and knowledge”

pieces necessary for arithmetical understanding. Some of the set-tings included hundreds chart jigsaw; missing numbers on the hun-dreds chart; race to 100 or any number; “543” spatial patterns for subitizing; 5,10, 20 bead boards and ten frames; empty number line; grids to ten; build the largest number using arrow cards; counting through a century backwards and forwards.

The classroom teacher taught all other areas of the fourth grade math curriculum designed around the Wyoming State Standards As-sessment. These included geometry, graphing, time and money, esti-mating, fractions, and rounding.

Each child was assessed every two weeks. Skills listed and moni-tored were FNWS, BNWS, numeral identification, skip counting by 2’s – 10’s backwards and forwards.

Addition and subtraction problems were given in the last ten minutes of class. The strategies used by the students and their un-derstanding of these strategies were observed and recorded daily. Based on results, students were pulled together into small groups.

In the Spring, fourth grade students took the “Proficiency Assess-ments for Wyoming Students” (PAWS). Of the twenty four students in the collaborative team classroom, twenty were proficient and four were advanced on the PAWS. This is a loud proclamation as to the success and effectiveness of Math Recovery Strategies.

Join us for the 2012 National Math Recovery Conference!

Contributed by Doris Lehman, Sweetwater School District, WY