Claire Brown

Leadership for Math Specialists

Module 4, Activity 1
Math Issues and Interventions
The math issue I decided to look into was mathematical problem solving. I feel this is a real issue
in our current classrooms, as students just ask if they should multiply or divide, rather than really reading
the problem and devising a system to approach the unknown. I also think this is one of the most important
concepts in math, as it is the math that students will be using in the real world. I also wanted to focus on
seventh grade specifically as this is the grade I will be working with this upcoming school year.
Looking into the WWC website, the closest I could find was the University of Chicago School
Mathematics Project (UCSMP) that focused particular on general mathematics achievement and algebra
of secondary mathematics. Most of the research of this program seemed for focus on eight and ninth
grade. It also was used with high achieving students as well as general students. This intervention is
supposed to focus on real-world math integration into the classroom, provide reading intervention and
problem solving. It also emphasizes the use of graphing calculators, computers, spread sheets, and other
technologies. The intervention is structured to have an introduction, provides a reading section with
explanations, and the provides real world examples. The intervention does not provide much in the way of
repetition or review. Looking at this affect size of this intervention is a little tricky, as they do not have
much pure data. They have three studies that were able to be published. Two of those studies show
significant growth using the program. One shows a no statistically significant decrease in achievement.