The Concrete-Representational-Abstract Integrated Sequence as Supplemental Instruction to Teach Addition

Abstract

Rural schools have challenges related to meeting students’ diverse learning needs with limited resources. Implementation of multi-tiered systems of support is one way to use resources efficiently to meet students’ needs. It is critical that teachers use effective practices within the first two tiers of support. The current study investigated a tier two mathematics intervention focused on additive reasoning. The researchers compared an intervention that used the concrete-representational-abstract-integrated (CRA-I) sequence with a business-as-usual intervention to teach second grade students receiving tier two intervention in a rural elementary school. Two intact classes of second grade students participated in a pre/posttest quasi-experimental design. Students in the CRA-I group made greater gains than their peers who received business-as-usual instruction. Implications, limitations, and future research will be discussed.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).