Preparing special day students to meet California graduation requirements in mathematics: Strategies of successful teachers.

摘要

The purpose of this study was to discover what teaching strategies were utilized by Special Day Class (SDC) teachers to prepare their 9-12 grade students to pass a course in Algebra 1 and the mathematics section of the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). This study used a mixed methodology involving a quantitative survey and qualitative data gathering that included open-ended interview questions, individual in-depth interviews, and document analysis. The primary research question was: What curriculum materials and instructional strategies are used by SDC teachers---particularly highly successful SDC teachers---to prepare students to pass Algebra 1 and the mathematics section of the CAHSEE? The supplementary research questions focusing this study were: (1) To what extent are SDC teachers using direct instruction to prepare students to pass Algebra 1 and the mathematics section of the CAHSEE? (2) To what extent are SDC teachers using differentiated instruction to prepare students to pass Algebra 1 and the CAHSEE? The research methodology was a mixed-methods design. The quantitative aspect of the study consisted of items on a questionnaire administered to the SDC teacher population in two unified school districts in a Northern California county. The qualitative data for this research consisted of two open-ended questions from the questionnaire, interviews with three successful SDC teachers, an observation of each teacher, a follow-up interview with each teacher, and document analysis. In summation, the majority of respondents to the questionnaire stated they used direct instruction as the primary teaching strategy to help SDC students pass a course of Algebra 1. The qualitative data showed that all three focus teachers used a step-by-step method to teach their students how to identify and solve different types of linear equations. In addition, all three teachers provided daily reinforcement of prior math skills, reinforcing new math skills, along with weekly assessments.