SIM Math Strategies

My thoughts about the Strategic Math Series, Cecil D. Mercer, Ed.D.:
The Strategic Math Series is based on research on effective teaching, learning strategies, memory, mastery learning, applied behavior analysis, generalization, and student motivation. Many students who have struggled with learning their basic math facts have used the program and now can understand, acquire, remember, and apply math concepts and skills. Students participating in the program manipulate concrete objects and create drawings to develop conceptual understanding, learn to use a learning strategy to solve problems abstractly, and participate in timings to develop fluency related to the basic math facts. Students also learn to create their own story problems, and they enjoy practice activities involving the Pig Games. All lessons include scripts to guide the teacher through the instructional components. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics highlights the need for students to understand basic facts and operations. Failure to acquire mastery of math facts and to understand basic concepts in beginning math instruction contributes heavily to later learning problems because fluent recall of basic math facts makes it easier to solve more complex problems in which these basic operations are embedded. The Strategies Math Series is designed to help students develop fluency in basic math facts.

My Thoughts about the Strategic Math Series: Level 2, Susan P. Miller, Ph.D.:
It has been a joy to witness the positive effects of the Addition With Regrouping and Subtraction With Regrouping lessons with students who struggle with this type of computation and related word problems. Students who receive this instruction develop conceptual understanding, learn to use procedural strategies, and develop fluency related to regrouping problems. Students also learn to discriminate between problems that require regrouping and those that do not. They learn to attack word problems without fear, and they absolutely love the one-minute timings and the Pig Games! Engagement in these fluency-building activities provides the extensive practice needed for skill mastery and keeps student motivation high. Students who receive instruction in these two programs will be ready to advance to more complicated math skills with the necessary prerequisite knowledge for future success.

Teacher and Student Feedback on the Strategic Math Series
Teachers report that the math strategies instruction is easy to implement and that the students really understand addition, subtraction, place value, multiplication, and division when they finish the instructional lessons. Teachers who use comprehensive math programs indicate that the Strategic Math Series provides students with needed supplemental instruction and practice to be successful in math. During field testing for the development of the Strategic Math Series, teachers were overwhelmingly positive and indicated they would continue to use the program after the field tests were completed. Moreover, students involved the field testing also provided positive written feedback concerning the program.

Teacher and Student Feedback on the Strategic Math Series: Level 2
Both teachers and students report high levels of satisfaction with the two programs. Teachers report that the lessons are easy to implement and they plan to continue using the program with future students. Students report the base-ten blocks, drawings, and the “RENAME” Strategy all help with solving regrouping problems. They also report that the Pig Games and Minute timings helped them learn. A doctoral student recently taught a group of elementary students the addition with regrouping lessons. In a follow-up session with these students, one of the students asked her to please teach his teacher how to teach this way. Another heart-tugging event occurred when the doctoral student met individually with students to discuss the progress they made during the program. When one student was shown her progress chart and told how much she improved since the pretest, she began to cry and said, “You mean I’m not stupid?” I can think of no greater reward than teaching students in ways that allow them to experience success, feel pride, and discover that they are NOT stupid.