The Use of Precision Teaching to Teach Basic Math Facts

Abstract

A Precision Teaching program for basic math facts was designed for students in the 5th, 6th, and 7th grade level in a regular primary school. Forty-eight typically developing students who were nominated by their teacher as falling behind their classmates in multiplication and division participated. Following a randomization there were two groups of 24 each: one that received Precision Teaching and one that received treatment as usual. The Precision Teaching intervention was put in place for 20 minutes each school day of the week for eight weeks. Tests were performed before and after the program, and also at follow up which was one month after termination of the Precision Teaching intervention. The group receiving Precision Teaching improved more on the tests than did the group receiving "treatment as usual", i.e. the regular mathematic instruction. Furthermore, on an individual level, more students in the Precision Teaching group showed reliable improvement. This study adds to the knowledge of the efficacy and importance of Precision Teaching and mathematic performance monitoring.

Behavioral fluency and mathematics intervention research: A review of the last 20 years

“…In an 8‐week study of fifth‐, sixth‐, and seventh‐grade students, Strømgren et al () tested for endurance and stability with math facts using fluency criteria of 70 correct responses per minute. Participants in the experimental group received a PT frequency building intervention.…”

“…Endurance tests lasted 90 s. Stability tests lasted 30 s while students listened to music in headphones as a distractor. Although most students only reached between 55 and 65 in the experimental condition, Strømgren et al () reported that participants who scored above 50 correct responses per minute in the experimental condition maintained scores more reliably on the stability and endurance assessments.…”

“…Criteria and assessments varied between the three studies that measured endurance and/or stability. Strømgren et al () indicated that students perform better when emitting more than 50 correct responses per minute on 90‐s written endurance and stability assessments for simple computation. Berens et al () indicated 100 oral responses per minute on 5‐min endurance assessments for identifying numbers (Berens et al, ).…”

“…With the critical need for mathematics fluency, and recent research showing behavioral fluency outcomes (e.g., McTiernan, Holloway, Healy, & Hogan, ; Strømgren, Berg‐Mortensen, & Tangen, ), we believe that a focused review can contribute to the critical appraisals of the evidence.…”

The Effects of Precision Teaching and Self-regulated Learning on Early Multiplication Fluency

“…This more accurately reflects how people learn (Johnson & Street, 2013). These charts have been successfully used to monitor student progress with basic facts in studies with participants similar in age to those in this study (Chiesa & Robertson, 2000;Gallagher, 2006;Strømgren, Berg-Mortensen, & Tangen, 2014). PT's emphasis on progress monitoring makes it particularly suitable for use within the post-action stage of SRL programs.…”