Mathematical Proficiency
As the study progressed, it was evident students were making significant gains in their mathematical proficiency. They collaborated with each other, explored concepts in depth, and justified their solutions. Students’ achievements in proficiency included:
- Conceptual understanding – Resulting in students’ comprehension of connections and similarities among interrelated facts
- Procedural fluency – The knowledge of when and how to use mathematical procedures.
- Strategic competence – The ability to formulate, represent and solve mathematical problems. This, paired with conceptual understanding and procedural fluency, are mutually supportive.
- Adaptive reasoning – The capacity to think logically about concepts, which is needed to solve mathematical solutions.
- Productive disposition – Positive perceptions about mathematics are gained as students develop more understanding about the concept.
When considering the power of using Universal Design for Learning principles to change the typically procedural script of teaching, researchers working in the classroom accomplished the following:
- Mathematical content knowledge
- Pedagogical content knowledge for mathematics
- Assessment for Learning
- An instructional design process that supports the effective integration of mathematics strands as identified in the Program of Studies.
