The DeMATHa Project: A Math Intervention Program
This past school year we were
assigned the task of developing an intervention math program for the seventh
grade. We dubbed this program the
DeMATHa (Developmental Math Academy) Project.
None of the students in the DeMATHa Project had previously passed the
Ohio Academic Assessment (OAA).
The creation of this project was not only successful
academically, but it was a tremendous learning experience for us. Despite
many obstacles, nearly 70% of all students in DeMATHa were able to successfully
pass the seventh grade OAA.
No classroom. No materials. No students.
That was our situation the first day
of the 2011-2012 school year as we prepared to teach an intervention math
class. The previous spring our district
spent a great deal of time, money and energy on a special reading intervention
program. There were all day in-services, tons of available materials, and detailed
lists of students and their reading levels.
All of the teachers in the middle school were involved …except for the
math teachers.
The math department was just an afterthought. We were given
the task of creating from nothing and teaching a developmental math class. Initially we thought we were going to have
two small classes of about six or seven students. It turned out there was no
class roster, only one room available and no resources devoted to this program.
Initially there was discussion of the usual focus on the
basics, which is nothing more than code for a lot of worksheets and repetition.
As the school year approached, we began to question this approach. Many of the students that would be in this
class already had a strong dislike for math. In addition, these students were going to be
pulled out of classes they enjoyed (gym, art, computer, etc.) to take another
math class. The prospect of cramming
more worksheets down their throats would not be appealing to us or them.
Finding ourselves with no students, no resources, no
curriculum and limited space, we developed a math manifesto for the DeMATHa
Project. These core principals are the
foundation of what we felt were needed to have success with these students.
The DeMATHa Project
Core Beliefs
FUN & RELAXED
The most important objective of DeMATHa was to create a fun
and relaxed environment. This is not to be confused with just goofing
around. We knew our only chance to help
these students was to create a situation that was enjoyable. Because we had total freedom, we were not
limited by the constraints of a typical classroom and we were able to customize
the class to best reach the students.
Normally teachers are concerned about covering all the
required material, but we had no required material. When we covered a topic in class we took our
time to insure that the students fully understood. Many times a one-week lesson
would morph into a two week lesson.
Because of no time constraints, we could take as long as needed and
present material in a variety of ways
We also included students’ input in the creation of the
class. During the first week we had the
students peruse their math textbook and list topics in which they were
interested. We then had the students vote on which topics to cover first. In addition, we incorporated student
interests into lessons. For example,
some students had an interest in hunting.
Throughout the year we found a variety of ways to incorporate hunting
into some lessons such as a circle graph of favorite animals to hunt.
Another key to winning the students over was the use of humor. There is a fine line between being
entertaining and playing around. We were
able to enjoy humorous moments that naturally occur in class. In addition, as teachers were able to play
off of each other’s sense of humor. We
believe the students could sense that we were enjoying ourselves which resulted
in a less threatening class.
Team teaching had an added benefit of allowing us to deal
with issues as they occurred without slowing the momentum of the class. Sometimes a student would be dealing with issues
from home and these issues would spill out into the class. With team teaching we were able to calmly
take the student somewhere quiet and get to the core of the problem. Many times the student just wanted to vent to
someone. Sometimes there were issues
that we were able to directly address.
The bottom line is that we could keep the class calm and minimize
conflict while at the same time building trust by showing the students that we
were concerned with their welfare.
LIMIT WORKSHEETS
The second principal of DeMATHa was to try to avoid using
worksheets and focus on hands on activities. The class would be made up of
students with a strong dislike for worksheets.
As teachers we did not want to fall into the trap of over reliance on
worksheets.
We still used worksheets, but less than ten percent of what
we would use in a normal class and with far fewer problems. When we used a worksheet it was usually
accompanied by manipulates such as algebra tiles. Also, we did not assign homework which helped
to reduce the amount of worksheets.
BIG CONCEPTS vs. BASIC
FUNDAMENTALS
Third, we wanted to focus on bigger concepts. We did not want to get bogged down on basic
fundamentals. Instead of spending a lot
of time on topics like long division we wanted to focus on bigger topics like probability
and understanding how to write equations.
The Ohio Academic Assessment for math does not test basic
computation skills and allows the use of a calculator. The OAA focuses on the student’s ability to
use basic computation skills to solve more complex problems. For example, instead of having the students
multiply 
the question might ask:
“A cake is cut into three equal slices.
Tim eats ¼ of a slice. What
fraction of the cake did Tim eat?” The
student could use a variety of strategies to solve this problem such as
multiplication, division or sketching out a visual model.
This is not to say we ignore student weaknesses in basic math
skills. We have a period each day called
academic assist in which we tutor students on fundamental weaknesses. We also use a basic skills review at the
beginning of each class as a way to practice and chart progress of student’s
basic skills.
VARIETY: THE SPICE OF MATH
The fourth core belief of DeMATHa was variety. We did not want to get in a rut doing the
same thing each day. Every day we tried
to keep the student wondering what was next.
When we were working on ratios and similar objects we took the class on
a “field trip” to the teacher’s workroom and used copiers to shrink and enlarge
different items. We tried a variety of
art projects, played math games (our favorites: XP Math & Hooda Math) in
computer lab, created Khan Academy accounts and tracked progress, let students
use the Smart Board, used in class games/competitions, varied students ability
to work individually, and allowed partners or group work in addition to many
other items.
In addition, the topics also varied. We made a concentrated effort not to cover
topics currently or previously taught in the regular math class. This created an atmosphere of discovery and
not just reviewing material.
In sum, we always wanted the students to be curious about what
was next. If we ever felt things were
getting stale, we immediately tried an activity that was 180 degrees from what
we had been working on to keep their focus.
DeMATHa – A reflection
In general we were very pleased with
the progress of the DeMATHa students.
One of the best rewards came from watching the students in their regular
math class. Because these students had
previously been introduced to the lessons, they had a swagger when these
concepts were presented to the other students.
You could see the excitement in their eyes when they realized that they
were ahead of other students in their math knowledge. This newfound confidence in math resulted in greater
participation in class and kept DeMATHa students focused. In many cases the DeMATHa students would
assist other students. Also, the
increase in confidence gave these students the fortitude to press on when they
would encounter difficulties.
The benefits of tandem teaching were
something we had not expected. Our focus had always been divide and
conquer. It was just assumed that a
small group with one teacher was the most effective way to operate. For us,
combining these two small groups and working together was far more productive.
Our core beliefs of a fun &
relaxed environment, limited worksheets, focus on big concepts, and variety were
reinforced with the DeMATHa Project. The
success of the project has led us to revamping how we structure our Academic
Assist Period. There are even certain
elements, such as greater variety, that we can incorporate into our regular
math class. We are also exploring the
development of a DeMATHa class for the gifted math students.
The value of the DeMATHa project is
supported by the numbers. Prior to
participation in the DeMATHa project, students had a 0% passage rate on
previous math Ohio Academic Assessments.
After DeMATHa, nearly 70% of participants were proficient on the
OAA. To take students from zero to nearly
70 percent passage with a program that cost no money to our district and was
created from scratch is a success, no matter how you add it.
This article was written by Todd Hawk and Chris Davis middle school math teachers and co founders of the Land of Math website (www.landofmath.com). You can follow Todd (@landofmath2), Chris (@landofmath1) or the website (@landofmath) on twitter.
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