Accelerating Mathematics Performance with Practice Strategies for Small Groups (AMPPS-SG) Program
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More than 60% of U.S. students struggle in mathematics and need more effective interventions to assist them with meeting grade-level expectations. Teachers and math researchers generally agree that the goal of intervention for elementary-school students who struggle in mathematics is to master whole number knowledge, which is a critical area that not only predicts performance on higher-level math skills throughout later schooling but is also associated with positive outcomes in adulthood.
Discussions with math educators over the past decade consistently suggest that teachers need additional support and resources to improve their students’ procedural fluency and conceptual understanding with whole number operations. Small group, versus one-on-one, instruction may also be particularly advantageous for teachers that have limited time or supplemental classroom assistance. These needs and considerations led to the development of the AMPPS-SG Program.
The primary goal of AMPPS-SG is to improve students’ whole numbers knowledge by targeting three core areas: (a) numeracy, (b) operations, and (c) word problem solving.
As is described in more detail below, AMPPS-SG is:
- Supported by rigorous research
- Appropriate for elementary school students and older learners
- Easy to access
- Feasible to use (for example, professional educators and other adults can implement it effectively and time-efficiently)
The AMPPS Curriculum is divided into 8 units, with each unit focusing on a specific skill. For example, units include Addition with Sums 0 to 10 (Unit A), Subtraction with Minuends 0 to 10 (Unit B), Complex Addition of Three One-Digit Numbers (Unit E), and Complex Addition and Subtraction with Regrouping (Unit H). Units are arranged hierarchically according to the Common Core State Standards Initiative in Mathematics (CCSSI-M) in order to account for key prerequisite skills. Each unit is comprised of 3 lessons. Additional units covering Multiplication and Division are forthcoming.
Research Supporting the AMPPS-SG Program
AMPPS-SG is evidence-based because all of the instructional and motivational components of the program have been widely shown in past studies to effectively improve students’ math abilities.
Even more important, AMPPS-SG is research-validated because there have been multiple rigorous evaluations of AMPPS-SG documenting its efficacy with students for whom the program is intended. These evaluations have been published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals and those interested in learning more about AMPPS-SG research and effectiveness should contact us.
Accessing the AMPPS-SG Materials
The main materials for the AMPPS-SG Program include an Instructor’s Manual, Implementation Protocols, and Instructional Materials. The Manual is required for learning how to implement all aspects of the program. The Implementation Protocols outline each step of an AMPPS-SG session, including implementation flow charts, activity descriptions, and key information for the instructor. The Instructional Materials include materials that are necessary to implement an AMPPS-SG session, such as flashcards, number lines, ten frames, story problems, and progress monitoring activity sheets.
We anticipated providing the AMPPS-SG Instructor’s Manual and AMPPS-SG Training Video for free, downloadable access in 2020. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted our ability to complete these materials. Without these materials, it is much less likely teachers would be able to successfully learn and use all the AMPPS-SG implementation procedures and materials.
For this reason, we are offering online AMPPS-SG training workshops and attendees of those workshops will receive the downloadable Implementation Protocols and Instructional Materials for free. Alternatively, if requested, workshop attendees can receive a print-version of the Implementation Protocols and Instructional Materials at a discounted cost. Please see the Training section below to learn more and register for a low-cost AMPPS-SG training.
Training for AMPSS-SG Program
Free or Low-Cost Workshops
TheThe primary focus of AMPPS-SG trainings is to show educators how to successfully implement the program and to answer all questions. Also, attendees will have opportunities to practice implementing AMPPS-SG while our expert trainers provide feedback and support.
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Do-it-Yourself Training
As described above, we anticipated providing the AMPPS-SG Instructor’s Manual and AMPPS-SG Training Video for free, downloadable access in 2020. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted our ability to complete these training materials. Once the Instructor’s Manual and Training Video are completed, they will be available on this website so that teachers have the option for do-it-yourself training. Until then, we encourage those interested in AMPPS-SG to attend one of our training workshops in order to learn the program and access all needed implementation materials.
Other Ways to use AMPPS
AMPPS can be implemented in a one-on-one (adult-student) format or in a small-group format (one teacher with 2-5 students). Students within a school or classroom have different learning needs, so schools may use AMPPS One-on-One with some students and use AMPPS-SG with other students. Although AMPPS One-on-One and AMPPS-SG are different programs, they have many similarities and our staff can assist schools or teachers with determining when to use one versus the other with a respective student or group of students.
In response to COVID-19 and schools moving to virtual learning, Helps Education Fund is currently working to develop and test a new model for implementing the AMPPS-SG Program virtually. Pilot tests will evaluate our virtual approach to ensure it has comparable effectiveness to our face-to-face program. Please contact us if you would like additional information or updates.
Frequently Asked Questions About AMPPS-SG
When asked “How does AMPPS-SG work?” educators often want to know what teaching strategies are integrated within the program.
AMPPS-SG strategically combines each of the instructional and motivational strategies most associated with improved outcomes for math fluency instruction. Specifically, AMPPS-SG systematically integrates each of the following teaching and learning strategies, all within an engaging 25-30 minute session with a group of 2-5 students:
- Modeling
- Guided practice
- Visual representations of quantities (e.g., number lines, ten frames, and diagrams)
- Verbalization (e.g., think alouds and choral responding)
- Isolated skill practice (e.g., flashcard drills)
- Explicit timing
- Goal-setting (that is, practicing text until a predetermined performance criterion is met)
- Performance feedback, combined with graphical displays so that students can easily see their progress and improvements
- Cumulative review
- Systematic praise and a structured reward system that highlights students’ accomplishments and increases their motivation to do their best during each AMPPS-SG session
In addition to its integration of the aforementioned strategies, AMPPS-SG is effective because it allows students to work through a rigorously developed sequence of skills (that is, the AMPPS Curriculum). Using specific decision rules for students to complete sub-lessons at a set fluency level, this systematic progression of skills within the AMPPS Curriculum allows students to develop and strengthen their math fluency by building upon what they have learned. Research with AMPPS-SG illustrates that, as a result of receiving the program, students develop improved fluency with addition and subtraction facts. The AMPPS-SG Instructor’s Manual provides additional detail about how the program works and the research behind the program.
Because all students must develop math fluency in order to progress to higher-level math skills, AMPPS-SG can be used with learners of all ages as long as they have at least some conceptual understanding of the computation processes for basic math facts (that is, addition and/or subtraction). Most often, AMPPS-SG is implemented with students in grades 2 through 5. While research has not yet been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of AMPPS-SG specifically with learners in grades 6 and above, there is reason to believe that AMPPS-SG can be effective with learners that have not yet developed proficient fluency with addition and subtraction facts, regardless of age.
AMPPS-SG is a highly structured intervention that can be used by many types of professionally trained educators, including classroom teachers, math specialists, intervention teachers, school psychologists, speech-language pathologists working in schools, librarians, and more.
We have had success with training community volunteers to use our programs with 100% accuracy. However, not all community volunteers will have the ability to successfully manage small groups of students (such as by keeping them all fully engaged and motivated during instruction). For this reason, if community volunteers are needed to use AMPPS-SG, professional educators who are strong AMPPS-SG interventionists should carefully oversee any community volunteer who is trained to use the program and ensure the volunteer can work well with a small group.
If you want to learn how to implement AMPPS-SG, click one of the links below to get started:
- List of upcoming AMPPS-SG trainings for individuals who want to learn the program.
- Contact us to learn how we can train you and others from your team. Team-based trainings include, for example, multiple educators from one school or school district, or multiple staff or volunteers from a non-school organization that supports student learning (e.g., an after-school program).
We anticipated providing a demonstration video of AMPPS-SG in 2020. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted our ability to complete the video. Once we can complete the demonstration video, it will be available on this website so that teachers are able to see an example of what an AMPPS-SG session looks like. Of course, training is required to fully learn how to implement AMPPS-SG accurately and effectively. If you want to learn how to implement AMPPS-SG, click one of the links below to get started:
- List of upcoming AMPPS-SG trainings for individuals who want to learn the program.
- Contact us to learn how we can train you and others from your team. Team-based trainings include, for example, multiple educators from one school or school district, or multiple staff or volunteers from a non-school organization that supports student learning (e.g., an after-school program).
Yes, AMPPS-SG can be implemented virtually. Please contact us if you would like to learn more about using AMPPS-SG in a virtual/remote-learning context.
Yes, AMPPS has been developed for use in both one-on-one (adult-student) and small-group instructional contexts. Thus far there have been a handful of formal research studies evaluating the effectiveness of AMPPS-SG, all of which have indicated that the program can improve students’ fluency with addition and subtraction facts. The page you are reading now focuses on AMPPS-SG, but you can learn more about our AMPPS One-on-One Program here.
Of course, every student has a unique set of characteristics, strengths, learning needs, etc. It is therefore impossible to know how many AMPPS-SG sessions are needed to best support every individual student, but past research with the AMPPS-SG Program has provided some information related to how often it should be used for it to be highly effective for most students. The following summarizes key information on this topic and we encourage you to contact us if you have any questions.
- An AMPPS-SG session can be comfortably implemented in 20-30 minutes once the adult has been well-trained.
- Research shows that AMPPS-SG can significantly improve students’ addition and subtraction fact fluency when 2-3 sessions are provided each week. At this time, we strongly recommend that educators aim for implementation at least 3 times per week.
- It is not recommended to implement more than one AMPPS-SG session in a day; instead, when improving math fluency, it is important to spread out the sessions over several days.
- Although research shows that students who receive 2-3 sessions per week make significant improvements in their math fluency over time, students can certainly benefit by getting more than 3 sessions per week if that is preferred by the educator.
The AMPPS-SG Instructor’s Manual provides even more information about how frequently to use the program as well as considerations for assessing its effectiveness with individual students and groups of students.
We anticipated providing the AMPPS-SG Instructor’s Manual and AMPPS-SG Training Video for free, downloadable access in 2020. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted our ability to complete these materials. Without these materials, it is much less likely teachers would be able to successfully learn and use all the AMPPS-SG implementation procedures.
For this reason, we are offering online AMPPS-SG training workshops and attendees of those workshops will receive the downloadable Implementation Protocols and Instructional Materials for free. Alternatively, if requested, workshop attendees can receive a print-version of the Implementation Protocols and Instructional Materials at a discounted cost.
Please click here to learn more and register for a low-cost AMPPS-SG training.
If a school uses a tiered approach to providing struggling learners with interventions (such as RTI or MTSS models of intervention), AMPPS-SG can easily be used within a tiered intervention model. For instance, AMPPS-SG might be used at Tiers 1 and 2 of common 3-tier models, and the AMPPS One-on-One Program might be used at Tiers 2 and 3.
For more information about using AMPPS-SG in a tiered intervention model, please contact us.
Although the AMPPS Programs were originally designed for students in elementary school grades, we are aware that educators may want to use AMPPS for students in grades 6 and above who do not yet have proficient math fluency. However, to use AMPPS-SG with students in grades 6 and above, the teacher will need to ensure that the motivational strategies integrated within the program are age-appropriate. The AMPPS-SG Instructor’s Manual provides guidance about age-appropriate considerations and adaptations.
We can also support teachers with supplemental materials. For more information and/or support for using the one-on-one or small-group AMPPS Programs with students in grades 6 and up, please contact us.
During the research and development of the AMPPS Programs, attention was paid to cultural and linguistic inclusivity. For instance, the names and scenarios used in story problems were intentionally designed to be culturally inclusive. There is also diversity among the students and teachers who have participated in both formal and informal evaluation studies.
Further, various components of the AMPPS-SG Program can be flexibly implemented to support the math fluency development of English Language Learners (ELLs). For example, during math “think aloud” processes, students can be encouraged to think or write in their dominant language. Additionally, during group work, students who speak the same dominant language can be paired together to discuss how to solve math problems in their preferred language.
Please contact us if you have any questions that are not answered on this page or you simply want to talk with one of our HELPS experts.