Graphic Organizers Applied to Higher–Level Secondary Mathematics

A review of popular approaches to teaching mathematics that emphasize nonverbal skills, such as using manipulatives or problem–solving schema, shows that they are often not immediately applicable to some important areas of secondary algebra. However, graphic organizers in various forms have been widely suggested and researched as an intervention approach to improve reading comprehension. In this article, suggestions for modifying graphic organizers to make them more applicable to teaching higher–level mathematics concepts and procedures are proposed. Using an appropriately modified graphic organizer to teach higher–level mathematics skills may help students with relatively weak verbal skills and strong nonverbal reasoning skills to be more successful in mathematics. This subgroup of students with learning disabilities has been consistently identified in several schemes for subtyping mathematical disorders developed from empirical evidence. Excerpts of two sample scripted lessons based on this approach, one for the solving of systems of linear equations in three variables and one for the concept of negative integer exponents, are included.

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