Mathematics recovery: an early number program focusing on intensive intervention

This chapter provides an overview of key aspects of Mathematics Recovery. It does not include a general overview of issues related to intervention to address children's difficulties with mathematics. Mathematics Recovery is an intensive intervention program in number learning for low-attaining first-grade students, that is, students typically around 6 years of age. This program aims to advance children's number knowledge to a level at which they are likely to learn successfully in a regular class. Participating students are taught individually in daily sessions of about 25 minutes' duration, for 4 or 5 days per week, for teaching cycles of 12 to 15 weeks' duration. Mathematics Recovery is also an intensive and extensive program of teacher professional development. For teachers new to Mathematics Recovery (MR), coming to know the Learning Framework in Number (LFIN) is a major and core aspect of their professional learning. In its basic form, LFIN is a set of five tables, each of which contains up to six levels. Each table in LFIN focuses on what is regarded in MR as a key aspect of early number knowledge. And in each table, the levels taken together constitute a progression of student learning, that is, the levels set out the number knowledge to be acquired progressively by the student. The five tables are referred to as models in the sense that each table models a progression of learning of a key aspect of number knowledge.