RESEARCH

The SABES PD Center for Math has gathered this research to provide you with background information, a rationale, and evidence to support decisions around math teaching, curriculum, and program design:

• Numeracy Research and Resources: LD and Numeracy-Level. Resources for learning more about mathematical learning disabilities and supporting students who need instruction at a numeracy level (GLE <2)
• Integration of English Language while Teaching Mathematics. A NCELA practice brief on effective instructional practices and examples for teaching math to English Learners.
• Adult Learners’ Reported Use of Mathematics in their Current and Future Lives. The study surveyed adult education students to learn how they used mathematics in their jobs and in their everyday lives. Students were also asked how they might use math for their future endeavors.
• Valuing Difference and Growth: A Youcubed Perspective on Special Education. Math educator Jo Boaler shares a growth approach to special education and mathematics that draws from the latest neuroscientific work in brain training.
• TEAL Math Works Guide. This guide from Teaching Excellence in Adult Literacy (TEAL) presents the culmination of two years’ work to identify research-based instructional practices in the content areas of mathematics and numeracy. It synthesizes important practices and competencies represented in current research on math instruction.
• Components of Numeracy. This document explores the nature and definition of numeracy. The three components of adult numeracy (context, content, and cognitive and affective) that are necessary in order to be numerate, act numerate, and acquire numeracy skills are discussed. 
• Journal of Research and Practice for Adult Literacy, Secondary, and Basic Education, Spring 2017. This numeracy-focused issue of the Council on Adult Basic Education journal (volume 6, number 1) includes articles on research, practitioner perspectives, and a forum on the challenges of adult numeracy.
• Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics. This book from the National Research Council covers math topics that apply to both adults and children. The College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education for Mathematical Practice were adapted from the integrated strands of proficiency: conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, strategic competence, adaptive reasoning, and productive disposition.
• Adult Numeracy: Review of Research and Related Literature. This report includes a vast number of topics related to adult numeracy and an annotated bibliography, which is also available as a searchable database.
• Adult Numeracy and Its Assessment in the ALL Survey: A Conceptual Framework and Pilot Results. The authors present a conceptual discussion of the numeracy construct and its facets, examine approaches to the assessment of mathematical skills, and review issues that influenced the item development process for the ALL (Adult Literacy and Lifeskills) Survey. This conceptual discussion had a large influence on the development of the numeracy framework for the PIAAC (Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies)assessment. 
• The Inclusion of Numeracy in Adult Basic Education. This chapter from the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy’s Review of Adult Learning and Literacy provides a comprehensive view of the state of numeracy instruction in the United States and other English-speaking countries.
• Adult Numeracy Development: Theory, Research, Practice, edited by Iddo Gal. The articles in this volume introduce views on the nature of adult numeracy, discuss instructional principles and recommended teaching practices, and examine assessment strategies.
• Adults Learning Mathematics (ALM): International Research Forum. The  yearly ALM Journal is an international journal of peer-reviewed papers.
• The Teaching Gap, by James W. Stigler and James Hiebert. This book describes the research on how teachers in U.S. schools compare with those in other countries.
• Seeing as Understanding: The Importance of Visual Mathematics for Our Brain and Learning. How does the brain function when students think about mathematics—or, rather, “see” it? This paper posits that according to embodied cognition researchers, the ways in which teachers posture, gaze, gesture, and use tools when expressing mathematical ideas contribute to students’ abilities to understand.
• Teaching Strategies for Improving Algebra Knowledge in Middle and High School Students. This practice guide highlights three general and interrelated themes for improving the teaching and learning of algebra: developing a deeper understanding of algebra, promoting process-oriented thinking, and encouraging precise communication.
• Building on Foundations for Success: Guidelines for Improving Adult Mathematics Instruction. This report reviews the research on adult education, adult mathematics instruction, and numeracy education.
• Algebraic Thinking in Adult Education. This resource explores the reasons that algebraic thinking is necessary to enable adults to meet the demands of the workplace of the future.
• What Community College Developmental Mathematics Students Understand About Mathematics by James W. Stigler, Karen B. Givvin, and Belinda J. Thompson.This is a must-read for those wondering why they cannot continue to teach math as they have in the past.