Mathematics Reform Curricula and Special Education: Identifying Intersections and Implications for Practice

Abstract

In many general education classrooms today, teachers are using “reform” mathematics curricula. These curricula emphasize the application of mathematics in real-life contexts and include such practices as collaborative, group problem solving and student-generated algorithms. Students with learning disabilities in the area of mathematics can experience challenges with these curricula due to lack of content knowledge and requisite skills along with processing and strategy deficits. The purpose of this article is to present information on strategies that can be used to complement math reform curricula to meet the needs of students with math learning disabilities.