Teaching Elementary Mathematics to Struggling Learners

Packed with effective instructional strategies, this book explores why certain K-5 students struggle with math and provides a framework for helping all learners succeed. The authors present empirically validated practices for supporting students with disabilities and others experiencing difficulties in specific areas of math, including problem solving, early numeracy, whole number operations, fractions, geometry, and algebra. Concrete examples, easy-to-implement lesson-planning ideas, and connections to state standards, in particular the Common Core standards, enhance the book's utility. Also provided is invaluable guidance on planning and delivering multi-tiered instruction and intervention.

Bradley S. Witzel, PhD, is Professor and Special Education Program Coordinator in the College of Education at Winthrop University in South Carolina. As a classroom teacher, and before that a paraeducator, he worked in multiple settings, teaching mainly math and science to students with disabilities and at-risk concerns. Dr. Witzel has authored several dozen research and practitioner articles and several books, including Response to Intervention in Math, and has developed and presented numerous educational videos. He is a Governing Board Member of the Southeast Regional Educational Laboratory, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, and a member of multiple state-level governing boards for multi-tiered systems of support and response to intervention.

Mary E. Little, PhD, is Professor of Exceptional Student Education at the University of Central Florida (UCF). She has worked in K-12 schools as a secondary teacher, co-teacher, program coordinator, and principal. Her interests include evidence-based instructional practices, interventions, teacher efficacy, and student learning related to teacher learning. Currently, Dr. Little serves as Principal Investigator for a research and development project designed to enhance the existing graduate programs at UCF to ensure highly qualified special education teachers in the content areas of mathematics and science. She is the author of numerous articles, chapters, and books, including RTI and Mathematics: Practical Tools for Teachers in K-8 Classrooms.