6 Introduction
diagnose, and address students’ learning weaknesses early and
precisely.There are several other key components that make
math intervention successful. The group structure, quantity
and quality of the tasks, use of new strategies, educator’s
expertise, incorporation of problem solving, and student’s
level of motivation are some of the factors that infl uence math
intervention success.Productive math intervention is rarely a whole class
endeavor. Math intervention is most effective in small
group structures. Students are more likely to reveal gaps in
understanding and misconceptions when they are in small
groups. Teachers are more likely to fi nd these gaps and
misunderstandings when they are working with a small group.
Furthermore, the small group structure allows teachers to target
the instruction more effectively because they can constantly
adjust the instruction. Teachers can tailor the interaction
and math discourse to help struggling students fi nd success.
Small group instruction provides opportunities for strategic
mathematics intervention.When possible, one-on-one instruction has powerful
potential. The teacher can concentrate completely on one
student’s academic needs. For some of us, one-on-one instruction
is only possible in small chunks of time because we have an
entire class to teach. For others such as special educators,
tutors, paraeducators, assistants, parents, and volunteers, one-
on-one instruction is more common. The benefi ts of one-on-
one instruction can be great because this structure provides
opportunities for intensive intervention. Students are typically
highly engaged and they gain confi dence in their abilities.