Frequently Asked Questions
Below you will find answers to questions that are often asked about the US Math Recovery Council and the programs that we offer. With some of the answers, you will find links to other pages that will provide you with more in depth information. If you do not find the information you are looking for, please feel free to contact us.
WHAT IS THE US MATH RECOVERY COUNCIL?
WHAT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS DO YOU OFFER?
WHAT IS THE MATH RECOVERY INTERVENTION SPECIALIST PROGRAM AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
WHICH PROGRAM IS RIGHT FOR ME?
IS MATH RECOVERY EARLY INTERVENTION ONLY FOR 1ST GRADE?
HOW IS MATH RECOVERY INTERVENTION SPECIALIST DIFFERENT FROM OTHER INTERVENTION PROGRAMS?
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A MATH RECOVERY INTERVENTION SPECIALIST?
DOES MATH RECOVERY MEET RTI CRITERIA?
WHY DO MATH RECOVERY INTERVENTION SPECIALISTS VIDEOTAPE ALL LESSONS AND ASSESSMENTS?
WHAT IS THE US MATH RECOVERY COUNCIL?
The US Math Recovery Council is a non-profit organization whose mission is to transform numeracy education by connecting research with practice through Math Recovery principles and theory, thus empowering educators to advance student mathematical thinking and success.
WHAT DO WE DO?
The US Math Recovery Council facilitates and supports numeracy education through offering or supporting Math Recovery Intervention Specialist, Add+VantageMR and SNAP professional development and providing awareness and on-going learning opportunities through regional and national conferences and institutes.
WHAT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS DO YOU OFFER?
The US Math Recovery Council offers three entry level professional development courses: Math Recovery Intervention Specialist, Add+VantageMR, and SNAP. Advanced courses and leadership courses are also offered at the US Math Recovery Summer Institute. CLICK HERE for more.
WHAT IS THE MATH RECOVERY INTERVENTION SPECIALIST PROGRAM AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
Math Recovery Intervention Specialist is an early intervention professional development program that primarily addresses first grade intervention, but teachers throughout the world apply the knowledge and strategies to students of all grades. Math Recovery Intervention Specialists teach in 40-60 lesson cycles in a one-on-one, videotaped setting. This instruction targets the child’s zone of proximal development (ZPD), allowing the child to make rapid gains in mathematical knowledge. Because the instruction builds from the child’s current knowledge, the learning that takes place is lasting and impacting. Math Recovery Intervention Specialists' students move from being the lowest in their class to achieving with the average or above average within their class. CLICK HERE for more.
WHAT IS ADD+VANTAGEMR?
Add+VantageMR utilizes the Learning and Instructional Frameworks of Math Recovery Early Intervention to provide teachers with tools for assessment and differentiated numeracy instruction within whole class and small group instruction. Add+VantageMR begins with a four-day hands-on professional development course, followed by an optional two-day course. Add+VantageMR is appropriate for teachers of kindergarten through 5th grades as well as Special Education teachers. Included within Add+VantageMR are five individually administered assessments, each taking 8 to 12 minutes to administer. Also included are tools for designing and managing differentiated instruction. The Add+VantageMR assessments are focused on the topics of Number Words and Numerals, Structuring Numbers, Addition and Subtraction, Place Value, and Multiplication and Division. Each of the two courses within Add+VantageMR include theory, assessment practices, assessment tools, and exemplary teaching ideas. CLICK HERE for more.
WHAT IS SNAP?
SNAP stands for Student Numeracy Assessment Progressions. The SNAP professional development course is a two-day course providing classroom teachers with an individually administered assessment tool. This assessment tool provides the teacher with detailed analysis of the current level of mathematical knowledge for each student in the class. CLICK HERE for more.
WHICH PROGRAM IS RIGHT FOR ME?
Click Here to download NCTM's guide: "Creating or Selecting Intervention Programs"
- The Math Recovery Intervention Specialist Program provides intensive intervention and develops teacher expertise. Math Recovery Intervention Specialist is a year-long course and participants are required to complete 100 hours of one-on-one videotaped Math Recovery teaching as part of their training. It is by far the most intensive program and requires the most resources, but in turn has dramatic, positive impact on the knowledge and lives of students and teachers.
- Add+VantageMR targets whole class and small group teaching. The assessment and differentiation tools within Add+VantageMR allow the teacher to individualize the mathematical instruction and learning of all students within the class and to regularly monitor student progress. Add+VantageMR allows any teacher access to the Learning and Instructional Frameworks used in the Math Recovery Intervention Specialist program, but is designed to be manageable for a classroom or small group teacher.
- SNAP prepares teachers to undertake detailed assessment of children’s number knowledge and to incorporate what they learn about their students into day-to-day instruction. SNAP is great introduction to the assessment and teaching principles of Math Recovery.
No matter which US Math Recovery professional development program you choose, you will find you are better able to meet the needs of the children within your school.
DO THE MATH RECOVERY INTERVENTION SPECIALIST, ADD+VANTAGEMR, AND SNAP PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES ADDRESS ALL STRANDS OF MATHEMATICS?
All of the Math Recovery programs focus on the Number strand of mathematics. Students who develop a strong understanding within the Number strand are likely to apply this understanding to the other strands in mathematics.
IS MATH RECOVERY EARLY INTERVENTION ONLY FOR 1ST GRADE?
While Math Recovery was designed to provide intervention for students in their 2nd year of school, the assessment and instructional tools within Math Recovery have been found to be beneficial for advancing students at all elementary grades.
HOW IS MATH RECOVERY INTERVENTION SPECIALIST DIFFERENT FROM OTHER INTERVENTION PROGRAMS?
The Math Recovery Intervention Specialist program offers teachers the chance to develop an in-depth understanding of how children learn mathematics. Teachers with these understandings are able to address the needs of a wide range of student difficulties. Math Recovery Intervention Specialists are able to design and implement instruction and monitor student development in ways that accelerate the learning process, allowing children to achieve at a level with average or above average peers. The Math Recovery Intervention Specialist framework aims to assist children in developing a deep knowledge of key aspects of number that will become the basis for learning elementary mathematics beyond first grade.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A MATH RECOVERY INTERVENTION SPECIALIST?
Teachers with at least three years of teaching experience are able to participate in the Math Recovery Intervention Specialist year-long professional development program. The program begins with five days of professional development with the goal of preparing the teacher to administer and analyze Math Recovery assessments, so that the teacher can then identify and select students for Math Recovery intervention. The professional development continues for five additional days with the goal of preparing the teacher to provide Math Recovery intervention. The professional development is supported throughout the year with on-site and off-site support in the form of facilitated collegial meetings and one-on-one coaching sessions. Teachers are expected to submit two projects that include written and video documentation with written reflections of both student and professional growth. Teachers are expected to participate in all professional development and on-going support. At the close of the year of professional development, the supporting Math Recovery Leader will approve or deny Math Recovery Specialist Certification. A teacher has two years to complete all requirements and be recommended for certification.
DOES MATH RECOVERY MEET RTI CRITERIA?
Math Recovery Intervention Specialist is appropriate as a Tier 3 intervention, providing students with intensive one-on-one instruction. Math Recovery Intervention Specialist is also appropriate for Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions. SNAP and Add+VantageMR are appropriate for Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions, in whole class or small group settings. CLICK HERE for more.
WHY DO MATH RECOVERY INTERVENTION SPECIALISTS VIDEOTAPE ALL LESSONS AND ASSESSMENTS?
Videotaping allows the teacher to pinpoint, without subjectivity, the child's current learning needs. This, in turn, allows for the maximizing of instructional time. Videotaping provides the teacher with the opportunity to reflect upon their questioning and decision-making, leading to the refinement of the practice of teaching and the understanding of children's learning.
