Middle School Math Instruction

Our research team spent twelve weeks reviewing literature on impactful math instructional strategies, including improving currently used practices, creating an environment that supports student learning, and incorporating rich learning activities. Our research team also reviewed literature on generating teacher buy-in on math instructional strategies and ways to support teachers as they incorporate these new strategies into their classrooms. The goal of this research is to identify the most high-yield practices for middle school math instruction.

Read the key highlights below or download the full report to learn more.

Math instruction in post-COVID context

COVID-19 changed the way teachers taught math, and some teachers may continue to depend on highly engaging activities that do not move the needle on test scores. As instruction moved online during the pandemic, teachers were forced to adopt new instructional strategies to make the most of uniquely challenging circumstances. To engage students with online learning, many teachers began using virtual games (e.g., Kahoot, Math Jeopardy) more frequently. While gamification is a useful tool in middle school math instruction to an extent, these styles of games often function more as worksheet replacement tools and are less effective at improving test scores than other methods.

Math as a concept

Middle school students are at a unique inflection point in their math education: they are moving from math as a practice to math as a concept. Middle school is a pivotal time in a student’s math education. For the first time, students must look beyond the arithmetic they used in elementary school and begin thinking conceptually about math, which can be extremely challenging, even for students who have been strong math students in the past.

The value of depth

Instruction should prioritize exploring the depth of a concept over needless repetition. Frequently, educators place too much emphasis on rote repetition in math learning, asking students to simply repeat a task to ingrain it into memory. While fluency and familiarity with a subject help students succeed in math class, particularly with understanding arithmetic and knowing how to apply it, middle school math teaching should focus on conceptual engagement with material. Strong conceptual engagement helps students apply their knowledge to other topics, making their understanding transferable and increasing their math competence and confidence.

Interactive learning

Teachers should set the groundwork for learning by establishing knowledge, but the following activities should be interactive. Explicit instruction is fundamental to student learning, with teacher-led instruction introducing the concept to the class. After a subject is introduced, instruction should transition from being led by the teacher to being structured around student-centered activities that encourage exploration of the content. The most successful students approach new concepts by relating them to concepts they already understand, or by focusing on learning unfamiliar concepts.

Generating teacher buy-in

Districts need to clearly communicate expectations, work with teachers, and give sufficient time to effectively roll out instructional changes in the classroom. Teachers need support through mediums such as professional development programs and teacher partnership programs from district administrators to prepare them to bring impactful instruction in math class. Districts also need to give their teachers sufficient time to implement the changes in their classrooms, ensuring that teachers are not only prepared to bring change but can do so sustainably and effectively over the long-term goal of improving middle school students’ math scores.

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