Teacher preparation for problem-solving instruction is essential to meeting the math needs of English learners (ELs) with math learning disabilities (MLD) in U.S. public schools. In investigating this instruction with Hispanic ELs with MLD, this study focused on how professional development supported one special educator's implementation of…

Three cohorts of third-grade students (N = 813) were evaluated on achievement, cognitive abilities, and behavioral attention according to contrasting research traditions in defining math learning disability (LD) status: low achievement versus extremely low achievement and IQ-achievement discrepant versus strictly low-achieving LD. We use methods…

According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, geometry and spatial sense are fundamental components of mathematics learning. However, learning disabilities (LD) research has shown that many K-12 students encounter particular geometry difficulties (GD). This study examined the effect of an integrated object representation (IOR)…

This study examines visual and spatial working memory skills in 35 third to fifth graders with both mathematics learning disabilities (MLD) and poor problem-solving skills and 35 of their peers with typical development (TD) on tasks involving both low and high attentional control. Results revealed that children with MLD, relative to TD children,…

This study investigated the role of strategy instruction and working memory capacity (WMC) on word problem solving accuracy in children with (n = 100) and without (n = 92) math difficulties (MD). Within classrooms, children in Grades 2 and 3 were randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions: verbal-only strategies (e.g., underlining…

The purpose of this study was to explore the utility of a dynamic assessment (DA) of algebraic learning in predicting third graders' development of mathematics word-problem difficulty. In the fall, 122 third-grade students were assessed on a test of math word-problem skill and DA of algebraic learning. In the spring, they were assessed on…

This study examined whether and, if so, how word-problem features differentially affect problem difficulty as a function of mathematics difficulty (MD) status: no MD (n = 109), MD only (n = 109), or MD in combination with reading difficulties (MDRD; n = 109). The problem features were problem type (total, difference, or change) and position of…

Analogical reasoning--perceiving similarities in different situations and the transfer of such information--facilitates learning and understanding. However, children with learning disabilities (LD) typically demonstrate deficits in such information processing strategies. In this study, we investigated the analogical problem-solving differences…

The adaptive use of approximate calculation was examined using a verification task with 18 third graders with mathematics learning disabilities, 22 typically achieving third graders, and 21 typically achieving second graders. Participants were asked to make true-false decisions on simple and complex addition problems while the distance between the…

This study assessed responsiveness to a 16-week mathematical problem-solving treatment as a function of students' risk for disability. Among 301 third graders, "TerraNova" scores were used to categorize students as at risk for both reading and mathematics disability (MDR/RDR; 20 control and 12 experimental), at risk for mathematics…

All three problem-solving approaches (cognitive monitoring, creative problem solving, and a combination) aided the oral comprehension of 100 reading disabled third graders. The combination approach produced consistently higher mean scores on the group administered Boehm Test of Basic Competencies than either program separately. (CL)