Supporting the collaboration of special educators and general educators to teach students who struggle with mathematics: An overview of the research

Abstract

Abstract Special education and mathematics teachers are under pressure to respond to the needs of an increasingly diverse range of students in mathematics. One way for them to meet the instructional needs of struggling learners is through collaboration where, ideally, the knowledge one teacher brings can address the gaps of the other. However, the differing perspectives and approaches they bring to the collaborative effort may also impede it. The purpose of this article is to describe a sampling of the recent research within both the mathematics and special education fields. This is done to enable collaborating teachers to create an effective learning environment for students who struggle in mathematics. Fifty recent studies focused on struggling learners in mathematics, were identified, and then analyzed to highlight the similarities and differences between the educational fields. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.