Adapting and Merging Explicit Instruction within Reform Based Mathematics Classrooms

ABSTRACT Given the current trend of teaching all students, including those with disabilities and English Language Learners, in inclusive general education settings, it is important to find instructional approaches that adequately address the diverse needs of today's students. This is particularly challenging when it comes to mathematics instruction due to the diversity of teaching philosophy and methodology used within the special and general education communities. For the past 15 years, educators and researchers in the field of general education have advocated for reform-based mathematics instruction based primarily on the work of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). However, educators researching instruction for students with diverse learning needs have continued to support an explicit teaching methodology for mathematics instruction. The purpose of this article is to provide initial thinking about how the explicit teaching approach can be adapted and merged with reform-based mathematics in hopes of providing high quality mathematics instruction for all secondary students. The development of effective mathematics programs for students with diverse learning needs continues to be a challenge for secondary educators. Legal mandates such as the Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act, indicate that students with disabilities, should have access to and progress through the general education curriculum (Mandiawitz, 2006). In addition, the Office of Civil Rights has challenged districts to provide English Language Learners (ELL) "equal educational opportunities" (Gomez, 2003). Along with these legal mandates, professional organizations such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) have addressed diversity in our classrooms. The NCTM (2000) addressed Equity as the first overarching principle to guide mathematics programming: "Educational equity is a core element of this vision. All students, regardless of their personal characteristics, backgrounds, or physical challenges, must have opportunities to study-and support to learn-mathematics" (p.11). Now, more than ever, the provision of access and equal educational opportunity occurs in general education inclusive classrooms rather than in special education resource or ELL classrooms. For the general education classroom teacher, the question of how to provide appropriate mathematics instruction to students who are performing on various academic levels is extremely puzzling. This question is further exacerbated by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) which has increased the pressure on teachers by holding schools accountable for each student's attainment of identified state standards (Rose, 2004). When students do not demonstrate continuous progress on state achievement tests, the schools and districts may face sanctions (Abedi & Dietel, 2004). In mathematics, these issues are further intensified by the different instructional philosophies for teaching students with and without learning problems. For more than a decade, most mathematics educators and researchers in the field of general education have supported reform-based mathematics. However, many educators and researchers working with students with diverse learning needs continue to support more explicit teaching approaches (Gersten, Baker, & Marks, 1998; Mercer & Mercer, 2001). With the current emphasis on access and accountability for all students in the general education mathematics curriculum, it is critical to examine the reform-based mathematics approach (widely used in general education curricula) and the explicit teaching approach (widely used with students with diverse learning needs) to determine whether the two approaches can work together for the benefit of all students. If this is possible, the likelihood of advancing mathematics competence among diverse groups of students will be enhanced (Woodward & Montague, 2002). The purpose of this article is to provide initial thinking about how reform-based mathematics practices and the explicit teaching approach can work together for the benefit of students with diverse learning needs. …