Educational Robotics and Game-Based Interventions for Overcoming Dyscalculia: A Pilot Study

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Recent studies suggest that educational robotics and game-based learning can provide engaging and adaptive learning environments, enhancing numerical cognition and motivation in students with mathematical difficulties. The intervention was designed to improve calculation skills, problem-solving strategies, and overall engagement in mathematics. The study involved 73 secondary students, divided into three classes, among whom only a specific group had been diagnosed with dyscalculia. Data were collected through pre- and post-intervention assessment evaluating improvements in numerical accuracy, processing speed, and support motivation. Preliminary findings indicate that robotics and gamification create an interactive, less anxiety-inducing learning experience, facilitating conceptual understanding and retention of mathematical concepts. The results suggest that these tools hold promise as supplementary interventions for children with dyscalculia. Future research should explore long-term effects, optimal implementation strategies, and their integration within formal educational settings.

Read all about this study HERE

Theoretical models of developmental dyscalculia

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In recent decades, various theoretical models have been proposed to explain the origins of developmental dyscalculia (DD). In this chapter, we review domain-general and domain-specific deficit theories of DD. When considering domain-general deficits, it has been observed that verbal working memory (WM) consistently predicts differences between children with DD and typically developing children in diverse age groups and samples, even after accounting for demographic and other cognitive variables. 

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Do you know the answer to this question about dyscalculia?

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A learner exhibiting difficulty in sorting, recognising pattern, orienting numbers and shape, telling time and measurement may have dyscalculia with difficulty in………

See the answers HERE

Memory Abilities in Children With Subtypes of Dyscalculia

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This study examines (a) mathematical skills of 2 subgroups of children with developmental dyscalculia (DD)-1 group with DD only and a second group with DD plus reading disorders (RDD)-and (b) analyzes the memory skills of both groups of children. Fifty 11- and 12-year-old children were selected from public schools in Guadalajara, Mexico. Seventeen children had DD only, 13 had RDD, and 20 were normal controls. Testing included 10 calculation and 6 memory subtests taken from the Evaluacion Neuropsicologica Infantil (Matute, Rosselli, Ardila, & Ostrosky, in press). Results indicated that children with DD and children with RDD show a similar pattern of mathematical impairment. Both subgroups had significantly lower scores than the control group in working memory tasks. In addition, the RDD group had significantly lower scores than the control group in visual learning and semantic memory. Although the RDD group scored lower than the DD group in most memory tests, this difference did not reach significance. Working memory tests (digits backwards and sentence repetition) appeared to be the best predictors of mathematical test scores and may represent a major cognitive defect in children with specific defects in mathematics.

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New to dyscalculia, do others have this?

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A call for comments from mumsnet

I have struggled with numbers my entire life much to frustration of parents, teachers, tutors etc but it has only been in the last 5 years that I have realised that it was dyscalculia and only in the last 18 months it’s also effects other areas of my life like computer screen outlays and also how I process information.

I wondered if Im unique in this or if there are others who struggle.

Participate in the discussion HERE