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"I Just Can't Do Maths!"
Unfortunately, this is something that a large percentage of adults think, let alone children, but it needn't be the case. Just as people with dyslexia can overcome their problems with the right help, people with an aversion to maths, or indeed diagnosed dyscalculia, can do too. In fact, Tony Attwood of The Dyscalculia Centre wrote “the solution is not to teach maths more slowly, but rather to teach it in a different way, using the multisensory approach.”
Psychologists agree that different people learn in different ways. There is now greater understanding of having right-brained (experiential) or left-brained (rational) tendencies. People with left-brained tendencies usually find logical and deductive subjects, like maths and science, easier than people with right-brained tendencies, who prefer more creative subjects. Similarly, every person has a different learning style (a preferred method of learning from which they learn the most). The most common categorisation model is Neil Fleming's VARK:
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Visual Learners
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Auditory Learners
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Reading/Writing Preference Learners
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Kinesthetic Learners.
Maths teaching tends to be taught by reading an example (whether on paper or the teacher writes on the board), reading a question in a text book and writing the answer. As we have seen, pupils learn in different ways so this may not be best for the pupil who is struggling. Schools are great institutions for teaching the masses, however teachers do not always have the time or resources to tailor lessons to each child. The best that can be done is to teach in a way to maximise the number of students who do grasp the subject – take the middle ground. As such, pupils who may be struggling with basic maths concepts find it harder and harder to catch up with the rest of the class and can feel disillusioned and disheartened. Similarly, though maybe counter-intuitively, students who have an aptitude to maths find lessons too easy and can become bored. They lose passion for a subject they once loved and enjoyed, and in some cases they can even become disruptive during lessons.
Fortunately, tutoring can help both these cases. By planning lessons to suit the individual needs of the pupil and allowing the student to set their own pace, confidence soon grows and small steps soon become strides. I do truly believe that, with the right help, everybody can do maths. It takes patience and effort from both the tutor and the student, but together confidence with numeracy can be achieved.
Bibliography
Tony Attwood, The Dyscalculia Centre wrote in P34-35 Issue 41, July/August 2009 of SEN Magazine.
Neil Fleming, VARK – A guide to learning styles. www.vark-learn.com
I have worked as maths tutor for a few students with different levels of dyslexia, who need help to make sure they make the most of their ability.
What I have found is that these students often find different connections and techniques for solving problems.
Although this can seem fun for me, clearly this can be a problem for a teacher in the classroom who may be more determined that students follow orthodox methods.
For me, the important thing is that the student realises that they may be working in a different way, and to explain what would be the usual solution.
But... "if it works, don't fix it".. If a student does their own thing, and this is logically equivalent to formal technique... then why not?
Lack of ability is certainly not the issue when dyslexic students need help with maths. Such a dyslexic GCSE pupil of mine recently let me know that he is now about to go to university to study engineering.
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