An overview of Dyscalculia

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Dyscalculia: News from the web:

With such a lack of awareness about dyscalculia it seemed a good idea to link to a wonderful paper, written by Matthew Thomas Michaelson from the Queensland University of Technology, that gives a great overview where he defines dyscalculia, considers
the origins of dyscalculia in psychological, biological, and pedagogical
contexts, describes the criteria required to diagnose students with dyscalculia, and delineates practical methods and instructional designs that can
be implemented in the classroom to address the specific learning needs of
dyscalculic learners

Read all about it: HERE

How Children Learn about Numbers

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Dyscalculia: News from the web:

See the wonderful explanation from Kelly Mix, here is a quote:

The thing about number is it’s fairly difficult to “see.” Think about trying to explain to a visitor from space what we mean by “two.” You might point to two mittens, two cookies, and two trees, saying “these are all two.” This is a good approach, but there is so much detail and information in each of these kinds of objects, that it’s hard to focus on the quantity. Partly that’s because the “two-ness” is held by the sets of things, rather than by the things themselves; each mitten by itself is not “two.”

Read all about it: HERE

Finger counting

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Dyscalculia: News from the web:

We have said it many times. Finger counting should not be discouraged. Children and even adults use this as their safety so give them that safety and eventually they may not need it anymore but don’t force it.

But did you know that people in different countries count different on their finger? Check out the podcast from the BBC program “fifth floor” (and fast forward to minute 27) for a review of the way people count on their fingers in various countries.

Read all about it: HERE

Neurodiversity Early Years Service

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Dyscalculia: News from the web:

The ADHD foundation in the UK has a wonderful page filled with resources about neurodiversity in those important early years.

They have articles about managing executive function for example. A great resource.

Read all about it: HERE

Deeper Learning

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Dyscalculia: News from the web:

Great quote from this wonderful read:

Although deeper learning in current early-grade mathematics classrooms is rare, a research-based program called Number Worlds has been implemented and studied in pre-K through grade 2. The program
is based on six guiding principles:
§ Expose children to the major ways numbers are represented and talked about.
§ Provide opportunities to link the “world of quantity” with the “world of counting numbers” and the
“world of formal symbols.”
§ Provide visual and spatial analogs of number representations that children can actively explore in
hands-on fashion.
§ Engage children and capture their imagination so that the knowledge constructed is embedded not
only in their minds, but also in their hopes, fears, and passions.
§ Provide opportunities to acquire computational fluency as well as conceptual understanding.
§ Encourage the use of metacognitive processes—such as problem solving, communication, and reasoning—that will facilitate the construction of knowledge.

Read all about it: HERE