Post # 37 Dyscalculia

If a student can recognize patterns, respond to multisensory instruction, and continue to successfully apply mathematics concepts, the student’s primary disability may be language based and not true dyscalculia.  This is where we must look for primary causes of deficits and not simply an inability to learn math facts by traditional methods and in traditional time frames.  Yet, more and more I see this as a diagnosis and an excuse to simply offer accommodations.  Difficulty learning math facts is NOT an excuse to stop teaching them. Oh, and I believe in calculators.  I also believe in teaching children how and when to use them.  They are valuable tools especially as students move toward and into algebra. 

One of my cooperating teachers at a school where I consult observed a middle school teacher simply telling a student to use a calculator for something as simple as 4 x 6.  The teacher did not stop to help the student reason through it or develop a strategy which he could use again.  When this happens we rob our students of the ability to reason mathematically and abrogate our responsibility to teach.   Much of higher math requires students to express whether a solution is reasonable or not and then explain why.  This is real life math and when we do not help students develop these skills we do not help them become proficient enough for the skills they will need to work today's jobs and manage their own personal finances.  

We must begin to look more deeply at the root causes of deficits in math and simply offer a label as an excuse to use accommodations.  We all use technology for complex calculations but they should be used sparingly as we develop the skills necessary to survive in real life