Over the last three decades, educational researchers and policymakers have increasingly promoted instructional strategies that centralize group work in mathematics. One difficulty teachers face in implementing group-based instruction in mathematics involves facilitating meaningful group interaction amongst students. In this paper, we explore…

Over three decades ago, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 1991) proposed that "for students to develop the ability to formulate problems, to explore, conjecture, and reason logically, to evaluate whether something makes sense, classroom discourse must be founded on mathematical evidence" (p. 34). As math interventionists…

Background: Supporting students during collaborative learning in mathematics is challenging for teachers. We developed the Small-Group Scaffolding Tool (SGS-Tool) to assist teachers regarding how and when to offer support. The tool is based on three characteristics of scaffolding small groups at the group level: contingency to the…

The need for focused small group math instruction has never been greater. Today's education landscape continues to be fraught with learning divides, and unlike its reading counterpart, small group instruction in elementary classrooms has often been reduced to learning centers and rotation stations, without enough emphasis on differentiated,…

How can teachers refine their strategies for purposefully engaging students in mathematical discussions when students are working in groups and the teacher enters an ongoing group conversation? In three educational design research cycles, four teachers collaborated with a researcher for one year to analyse, design and evaluate strategies for…

This study was undertaken to systematically analyze instructional interventions employed to enhance the mathematical performance of elementary school students with math learning difficulties (MLD). Over 20 years (2003-2023), 34 articles that met the inclusion criteria were included in the analysis. The articles in the study were analyzed in terms…

This article shares an approach specifically for fostering equitable small-group, student-to-student discourse (S[superscript 3]D). The S[superscript 3]D approach is a two-phase process focusing on implicit strategies. Phase 1 involves assessment of current small-group discourse through three lenses: group dynamics, discourse quality, and teacher…

The purpose of this study was to further address the "for whom" in the question of the effectiveness of modified schema-based instruction (MSBI) to teach mathematical problem solving to students with intellectual and developmental disability by evaluating whether positive outcomes from prior research would be replicated with elementary…

Conceptual replications are part and parcel of education science. Methodologically rigorous conceptual replication studies permit researchers to test and strengthen the generalizability of a study's initial findings. The current conceptual replication sought to replicate the efficacy of a small-group, first-grade mathematics intervention with 240…

Understanding how students develop learning opportunities through peer-to-peer interaction is vital for advancing research and practice on collaborative learning environments. This study investigated the discourse practices middle grade students utilized to resolve conflict in ways that promoted or inhibited learning opportunities. Seventy-seven…

Mathematics language routines (MLRs) are a form of ambitious multilingual mathematics instruction that can be used to engage students in rigorous mathematical thinking while supporting English language and literacy development. MLR Co-Craft Questions allows students to get inside of the context of a problem before solving it, without feeling the…

Supporting students with mathematics learning difficulties (MLD) as they transition from arithmetic to algebra remains a challenge within the special education and mathematics education research communities. This dissertation includes 3 manuscripts focused on how fifth graders with MLD develop algebraic understandings related to equivalence and…

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether positive results from a word-problem intervention implemented one-to-one contributed to similar outcomes when implemented in small groups of three to four students. Third-grade students experiencing mathematics difficulty (N = 76) were randomly assigned to word-problem intervention (n = 56)…

In this study, we aim to investigate the role of language in small group peer collaboration. Based on the notion of symmetrical scaffolding, we draw on theories of dialogic space and functional linguistics to analyse a transcript of three six-year-old students as they explore a shared understanding of 'two more than'. Using Martin and White's…

There is little evidence of how differentiated instruction is being implemented, if at all, in low- and middle-income contexts, which often have unique challenges such as availability of resources and large class sizes. In this paper, we present the results of a qualitative study in eight multigrade preprimary classrooms in Kenya. We used…