Although math concepts can appear to be more “black and white” than other subjects, it includes a number of skills and concepts that are difficult for students to fully comprehend, apply and generalize. After about second grade, concepts become increasingly abstract and complex, and the language and terminology become more nuanced. If deficits exist, it is difficult to progress in math ability, as skills continuously build on one another. There are several reasons a child may struggle in math (Allsopp et al., 2007).
- Memory: Students who have problems retaining and retrieving information will struggle, not only in learning and retaining basic math facts, but also in remembering the steps in a multistep problem.
- Attention: Solving math problems requires a great deal of attention to detail. Students who struggle with attention may miss a step in a problem or miss an important detail that is needed to solve a problem. These same students may also find it difficult to maintain motivation when tasks seem repetitive or boring.
- Metacognition: Students with learning differences often struggle to monitor their own learning. This involves knowing how to approach a task, using appropriate skills and strategies to solve a problem, and evaluating performance. Deficits in this area can result in difficulty with novel problem-solving tasks.
- Cognitive processes: Cognitive factors, such as processing speed, visual-spatial skills and working memory, can impact math skill development. Some students need more time to process what is being taught or what other students are contributing. Other students may have visual processing deficits, which make it difficult to accurately perceive the information they see. They typically struggle to understand place value, appropriately align problems, or struggle to complete problems involving graphs and geometry. Deficits in working memory can also impact math ability as students struggle to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously.
- Math anxiety: If math is hard for a student, he/she can become quite anxious when in math class or completing math homework, which contributes to greater difficulty.
At Currey Ingram, math is considered in all of its complexity, and instruction is scaffolded to meet specific needs. There are several areas that have to be developed in order to become proficient at increasingly difficult math concepts.
- Number Sense: Number sense refers to a child’s “fluidity and flexibility with numbers” (Gersten et al., 2001). This involves understanding the quantity of numbers and their relationship to one another. Number sense deepens the understanding of relationships between operations, terminology associated with each operation, and mathematical properties (e.g., commutativity, associativity).
- Strategy Use: Once students develop conceptual understanding of a skill, students can be taught strategies to apply to various concepts (e.g., solving math facts, counting money, solving multistep computation problems). Strategy instruction helps students relate skills to one another, which facilitates long-term retrieval of the skill and ultimately automaticity (Woodward, 2006).
- Automaticity: The definition of automaticity varies across the literature but ranges from answering a fact every 1.5 to 3 seconds. Imbo et al. (2007) demonstrated that retrieval efficiency increases with grade progression; therefore, the focus on automaticity does not typically begin in the Lower School until second grade. Until that time, focus is on conceptual understanding of the four operations and acquisition of basic facts under untimed conditions.
Although complex, math does not have to be a dreaded activity. By knowing the learning profiles of each student and through intensive, focused and direct instruction, students can develop and strengthen their math abilities.
Free session on ‘Strategies to Improve Math Achievement’
Join us for the Annette Eskind Institute of Learning session on “Strategies to Improve Math Achievement in Neurodiverse Populations” presented by Dawn Pilotti, the McRae Family Foundation Chair of Mathematics at Currey Ingram Academy. This free presentation is from 8 to 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 26 on the Currey Ingram campus, 6544 Murray Lane, Brentwood. Click here to RSVP.
References:
- Allsopp, D.H., Kyger, M.M. and Lovin, L. H. (2007). Teaching Mathematics Meaningfully: Solutions for Reaching Struggling Learners. New York: Paul H. Brooks Publishing Company.
- Gersten, R., and D. Chard. (1999). Number sense: Rethinking arithmetic instruction for students with mathematical disabilities.” The Journal of Special Education, 33 (1), 18-28.
- Woodward, J. (2006). Developing automaticity in multiplication facts: Integrating strategy instruction with timed practice drills. Learning Disability Quarterly, 29, 269-289
