A conceptually-guided approach to mathematics instruction is essential to the learning needs of struggling students. The instructional principles from the special education literature that best serve this population of student are the foundation for the pedagogical structure of TransMath.

The authors of TransMath are Dr. John Woodward and Mary Stroh. John Woodward, the lead author, is Dean of the School of Education at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, and has more than 25 years of educational research. He has studied/researched both in the US as well as the Asian countries analyzing what works and what doesn't work when learning math, and why.

TransMath's state-of-the art resources meet the specific needs of special education teachers. The Teacher Guide provides embedded explicit easy-to-follow instructional support and professional development.

	Include suggested prompts, such as "Ask for, Listen for, and Watch for," used to keep discussions going, to assess prior knowledge and identify student misconceptions
	Multiple modeling strategies provide teachers support to effectively implement the curriculum
	Multisensory strategies to deepen conceptual understanding and build problem solving proficiency

In TransMath, concepts are developed with visual models that help students see the big idea being taught.

TransMath lessons are broken into two strands to help reduce the amount of cognitive overload from staying on one concept for an entire class period.

	Changing content keeps students engaged
	It signals to students a shift in the nature of the activities
	The cognitive load of learning is modulated because students move from individualized learning in the Building Number Concepts strand to paired or small group work in the Problem Solving strand

In TransMath, Distributed Practice is delivered daily through warm-up Skills Maintenance activities that begin each lesson, and through the homework assignments that ensures continuous practice on previously learned.

The instructional support in the TransMath Teacher Guide provides the tools teachers need to probe student understanding.

Ongoing progress monitoring is an important method for ensuring student success. Embedded in TransMath are multiple opportunities to assess understanding on a daily basis.