TouchMath. Reaching and Teaching All Students

Moderation state
funded
Grant Applicant
Alexandria Kalita, Special Education Teacher
School Site
Truckee Elementary
Grant Category
Mathematics & Science
Grant Date
2019-08-01T12:00:00
Description

I have witnessed the TouchMath program make math education accessible to the most challenged students. I have seen TouchMath empower students who did not believe in themselves, did not think they could count, and did not think they had the power within themselves to be successful at math. To say that the TouchMath program has changed student’s lives, would be an understatement.

 

While this program supports all learners, TouchMath emphasizes a deeper and richer understanding of mathematical concepts through a multisensory approach, going from the concrete to the representative, to the abstract, as a Tier 3 support. TouchMath allows teachers to identify, target, and remediate missing skills on an individual student basis, while monitoring progress and duration of the intervention.  It is with the hopes that this grant will fund two TouchMath kits to target intervention with the average special education, Tier 3 student in mind.

 

To reach all students, I am requesting the RtI Kindergarten Through Second Grade Resource Basic Program and the TouchMath Money Kit.

Benefits of Program

This program will be utilized by teachers and paraprofessionals to target students who require remediation and intervention in math. With little math resources available, this will program will help kickstart an intervention program designed to meet the needs of struggling mathematicians, so that they can access their core instruction in the classroom setting. TouchMath provides both a support and multi-level intervention system to assist students who fall within the Tier 1, 2 and 3 levels of the IDEA Response-to-Intervention framework.

Success of Program

Research supports the effectiveness of TouchMath as positively impacting students performance in cardinality, operational algorithms, conceptual understanding, application, fluency, automaticity, and modeling. (Kot, Terzioglu, & Yikmus, 2018). TouchMath has the ability to bridge the gap between concrete and representational mathematics. The program takes into account students’ academic and cognitive proficiencies and deficiencies while enriching both the concept and the computation. The sequences that TouchMath® follows are built upon the work of Dr. Jean Piaget and Dr. Lev Vygotsky. The work of both Piaget and Vygotsky led to some of the most utilized constructivist methodologies and developmental theories of our modern educational systems.

Implementation

Students at Truckee Elementary have daily time in the resource setting. This program will be implemented in small groups. Students will be provided with manipulatives and supplemental materials to support core instruction in the general education classroom setting. The intervention tools that are a part of the TouchMath kits will allow the teacher to track data and growth to determine efficacy and success. The goal is that students will receive RTI services to then transfer their knowledge to independent skills in the classroom.

 

Historically, educators have used concrete manipulatives to support and build conceptual understanding. TouchMath Counting is the most basic math skill and connected to every mathematical domain area for elementary and middle school. TouchMath is the only curriculum program that uses a numeral as a manipulative, instantly making a potentially daunting abstract concept into real and concrete action. It is also a multi-sensory curriculum that uses seeing, hearing, and touching numerals. This multi-sensory approach allows students to engage in mathematics visually, tactically, and kinesthetically.

Can you share this grant with your grade level or subject team?

Yes. This program will provide Special Education teachers with another tool to use for students that struggle with math and are not responding to other methods. As students struggling with mathematics begin to improve their skills, they are more likely to access the core curriculum which also ties into our participation in our Special Ed PLC’s and our site grade level PLC. In addition, this grant will provide our program with sufficient, up to date math materials to enhance self motivation in all students.

Sustainability
The TouchMath intervention program will be available as an intervention resource at Truckee Elementary for many years.
Amount Funded
$3431.00
Individual Budget Items(s)
$2794 - RtI Kindergarten Through Second Grade Resource Basic Program
$325 - Money Kit
Shipping
$249.52
Taxes
$244.22
File Uploads
Touchmath_ Ex in Ed .pdf (140.02 KB)
Supporting Links
https://www.touchmath.com/index.cfm