Almost half of all dyslexic student may have math disabilities (Wilcutt et al.2013), but math disabilities or dyscalculia are rarely recognized in public or private schools in the US. All the more important for tutors, teachers, and parents to be aware of dyslexia-related differences in learning better ways of helping information ‘stick’. One helpful example for how to support math for dyslexic students comes from the Sagonaska Demonstration School. They have completely embraced multisensory learning and have considered how reading and writing challenges can affect the way students learn and show their work. Third Space Learning has nice graphics about this approach. Briefly, it involves introducing new math concepts with physical materials, then switching to the use of drawings (representations) to work […]
Free Visual and Hands-On Math Curriculum: Bridges
Recently, I discovered a free visual and hands-on math curriculum from The Math Learning Center, a non-profit organization that grew out of a National Science Foundation project. The curriculum is for Pre-K through 5th grade and it may be helpful as an addition to...
Schools Missing the Boat on Dyslexia and Math [Premium]
Forty-four percent of dyslexic students also meet diagnostic criteria for math disability, according to researchers, but math rarely receives specific designations on students’ individualized education plans. What is the result? Dyslexic students with math disabilities underperform, fail, get held back, and find themselves excluded from certain academic tracks and majors (like science, technology, and engineering). What they really need though are informed teachers and school programs that understand their specific needs and teach them based on their strengths. CHALLENGES AND STRENGTHS IN MATH In a review of 50 consecutive dyslexic students seen in our clinic, the following patterns were seen in their WISCIV IQ and WIAT-III achievement scores. Our practice was unusual because we had many gifted referrals from the Silicon Valley and many students […]
Multiplication [Premium]
Multiplication has always been my nemesis. When I was testing a student and Brock heard me hesitate when a student was answering a math fact, he took that job away from me. I know I’ve spoken about the stories and mnemonics at Multiplication.com before, but if this approach is not a match for your student, consider multiplication chart or machine approaches which also use both visual and kinesthetic approaches to remember. One thing we had in our house was a Multiplication Machine like this one from Lakeshore Learning: It’s a low-tech gadget but surprisingly is attractive for kids practicing their times tables. It especially helps those who are kinesthetic learners – pressing on the number to get the answers reinforces the facts. For kids who […]
Memory Problems and Math [Premium]
Many students and adults attribute difficulties in math to memory problems, but probing these difficulties further often leads to the realization that it’s not a simple matter of remembering or forgetting, but rather trouble defining, organizing, then retrieving what has been learned. PROBLEMS DEFINING AND UNDERSTANDING ‘WHY’ First of all, if a student is struggling with remembering new information, it’s best to check and see if the definitions, procedures, and the why of procedures are clear. In fact, it may be a flipside of a strength in long-term memory that contributes to dyslexic students’ confusion with ambiguous terms. A good example of this James Tanton’s blog post: When fractions are introduced as pieces of pie, 3/5 + 1/5 makes sense to equal 4/5, but what […]
Organizing Math [Premium]
Math is a challenge for almost every student as the world recovers from disruptions due to the pandemic. Although almost all community colleges waive some math requirements, only a few colleges completely waive them. One list I found was here, but do check individual college sites for current information. 1. University of Arizona – Substitution allowed 2. University of the Ozarks – Substitution for College Algebra 3. California Polytechnic State University – Substitution for non-math majors 4. Cal State Fullerton – Math substitution 5. Cal State Long Beach – Math substitution 6. Cal State San Bernadino – Math substitution 7. Menlo College – Math substitution 8. Santa Monica College – Math substitution 9. Sierra College – Math waiver 10. UC Berkley – Math waiver 11. […]
Math Games for All [Premium]
Math games are a great way to build a hands-on sense for number flexibility and quantity. The best situation is if hands-on and visual math activities are started from the beginning, but the good news is that it’s never too late to start. Even students who are taught almost exclusively in rote/symbolic ways can benefit by activities and reinforcements at home or in out-of-class tutoring sessions. SUBITIZING AND NUMBER SENSE Subitizing is a term that refers to a rapid and confident judgment about a small number of items. If you have three coins in your hand or five do you quickly know how many coins there are without having to count? That number sense is important before progressing to higher calculations. Click on the photos […]
New Ways to Hack Learning [Premium]
Almost every structured literacy program uses letter tiles and flashcards. The reason for this is that there are so many word parts and whole words to learn and the use of tiles and cards can give students visual support as they focus on various letters, letter groups, and their sounds while building up reading fluency. Some students may have difficulty learning with tiles and cards if the lessons or demonstrations proceed too quickly, or if working memory is easily overloaded or motor challenges make hands-on activities more difficult than less kinesthetic ones. Activities like word sorts may also provide a little physical activity that help students stay alert and engaged whereas more passive study may have them drifting off. For college kids and adults, flashcards […]
Dyslexia and Math: Knowing Why [Premium]
It’s been estimated that almost half of dyslexic individuals will also be dyscalculic (Wilson et al., 2014), but dyscalculia is less likely to be assessed or formally identified in school, leaving students to flounder on their own. WHY IS DYSLEXIA COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH MATH LD? Experts still debate why there is such significant overlap, but at least one recent study found that spatial difficulties were especially associated with students with dyscalculia or those with both dyslexia and dyscalculia. Besides spatial factors, difficulties in sequencing, trouble with symbols, working memory overload, and rote math fact retrieval are all difficulties commonly seen among dyslexic students and those with dyscalculia. What is not particularly common among dyslexic students is difficulty with math reasoning – in fact for […]
Dyslexic Advantages in Electrical Engineering [Premium]
A TALE OF TWO STORIES “At the beginning I can remember looking at blackboards or pages of text having no idea what other kids around me were seeing. For me the pages may have well as been blank for all I could glean from them. However I was lucky as when I started my secondary school my teacher spotted that I was having problems. I was tested for dyslexia and found to have a mild form… By the time I left I had poor grades and was told I would not amount to much…” Same person: “I became interested in geeky stuff when I was less than ten years old. I remember being given a toy wind up clock that you could open the back […]
The Tricky Teen Numbers [Premium]
THE TRICKY TEEN NUMBERS Some of the difficulties that dyslexic individuals have learning math involve ambiguities or inconsistencies that other people don’t seem to notice. It’s a common finding that dyslexic students need to know why and not just that something is done in a specific way. But when the systems themselves are illogical or inconsistent, then confusion happens. It is better then to explicitly discuss inconsistencies and “”exceptions”” as they exist in a system – whether it’s part of the English language or part of math language and notation. For those people with rote memory strengths who are happy to memorize anything without making sense of things first – the troubles some may have with ‘teen’ numbers may come as a bit of a […]
The Language of Math [Premium]
“The meanings of words in general usage are often very different from their mathematical meanings.” — Marilyn Burns Educational leaders are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of teaching the language of math in order to raise understanding and performance. There can be extensive reading and writing demands associated with math learning and dyslexic students may be at particular disadvantages learning because they may have trouble reading word problems, dual tasking (listening while taking notes), and confusion with symbols. A paper by Riccomini and colleagues recalled some of the difficulties associated with learning the language of math: – Words that have different meanings in contexts (a foot = 12 inches vs. foot of the bed) – Homonyms (pie vs. pi) – Concepts that may be […]
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