Dyscalculia- Quelling Math Anxiety

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A Math Look from Dyscalculia.org

DYSCALCULIA Quelling Math Anxiety

Presented byRenee Hamilton-Newman

M.S.-Special Education, M.Ed.-Instructional DesignDyslexia and Dyscalculia Diagnostician and Therapist Detroit, Michigan, USA

QUELLING MATH ANXIETY

SPEAKER INTRO

MATH ANXIETY REAL

ANXIETY NATURAL

COGNITIVE LOAD

DYSCALCULIA?

EMOTION+HISTORY

WORKING MEMORY

AUDITORY MEMORY

VISUAL MEMORY

SOLUTIONS

SEQUENCING

VIS-SPACE-DIRECT-SEQ

ANXIETY IS A NATURAL CONSEQUENCE

when unable to perform as needed or expected. Experience (past + present) + prediction = anxiety and avoidance of the unpleasant. Math Anxiety does NOT CAUSE dyscalculia; it results from it.

2 Anxiety

Instructional or situational disconnect / lost, stress, struggle to reconnect ... if unsuccessful: frustration, anger, distress.

2 Anxiety

Demand uncertainty + time pressure = distress.

Processing capacity is exceeded.

Overwhelmed cognitive thresholds.

2 Anxiety

Math Anxiety activates + shrinks brain areas (fear, threats, pain); reduces activity in processing + reasoning areas; stress chemicals; overloads/disrupts working memory.

2 Anxiety

TO REDUCE MATH ANXIETY: - write about feelings - positive affirmations/mindset - use resources to experience abstract concepts - deep understanding - see relationships - facilitate calculation - math language fluency

Positive Experices + Confidence + Strategies + Tools

DYSCALCULIA SYNDROME

PERSISTENT DIFFICULTIES: - TIME - CLOCKS - CALENDARS - SCHEDULES - DATES - NUMBER SEQUENCES - DIRECTION (L/R, NAVIGATION) - VISUAL-SPATIAL PROCESSING - VISUAL MEMORY - PROCEDURAL MEMORY - MOTOR SEQUENCING (TYING, DANCE, SPORTS) -"CARELESS ERRORS" - STRUGGLES TO KEEP UP / ENGAGE / PERFORM

DYSCALCULIA SYNDROME

29-y.o. Counselor with Severe Dyscalculia: - Cannot hold numbers in mind - Tally marks represent digits - Working Memory Impairment - Percerveration: 3 - Procedural Memory Impairment - Slow math processing speed - Counting errors - Reasoning errors - Embarrassment - Red face, perspiration, tears

Dyscalculia Performance Profile - 29 yo

- Exceptional Reading Skills - Exceptional Speaking Skills - Good Written Expression + Spelling - Average Listening Comprehension - Weak Phonological Processing - Impaired Math Skills - IQ 102 Average

Severe Dyscalculia 29 yo Counselor

- distrust of procedural memory - counted repeatedly - > persistence! - > attention! - > focus! - > very slow

29 y.o. counselor

- marks hold numbers - does not trust count - recounts - perimitive strategy - working memory is overwhelmed -> forgot operations - 5 x 2 = 7 (added) - > persistent! - normal IQ - tallying scores at work takes inordinate time

18 yo girl high IQ

-quickly solved basic math problems, and easy algebraic equations - high IQ 131 - talented writer, speaker, reader, artist, musician, dancer, playwright. - when math threshold overwhelmed -> panic attack - private, exclusive boarding schools K-11 - HS drop-out: math-shamed, humiliated - long division and double-digit multiplication: * visual-spatial-directional-sequential ambiguity * poor procedural memory * working memory overwhelmed: forgot operation - attends college - can't pass math portion of GED - > anxiety

15 yo girl grade 9

- above-average IQ - talented writer & illusrator - poor procedural memory - limited understanding of place value - no monitoring for reasonability - limited understanding of decimal point - accurate multiplication

"Math Dyslexia"

college student age 25

25 y.o. College Student

- poor procedural memory - visual-spatial uncertainty - repeatedly subtracted to divide - > persistent! - Math - F 3x

Brian Butterworth - Subitizing - Number Sense - Neurology of Dyscalculia

Research Timeline 1808-2020

Research Timeline 1808-2020

cm

Mb

SOLUTIONS

kg

Language - Vision - Big Picture Relationships - Tools for Reasoning & Calculation

Tb

4 - Solutions

UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING (UDL)

INFORMATION REDUNDANCIES (live + stored + accessible)

1. AUDITORY - hear it
2. VISUAL - see it
3. ACTIVITIES - experience it
4. DEMONSTRATION - explain it
5. OPPORTUNITIES - several
6. CHOICES - to demonstrate mastery in different ways

4 - Solutions

Learn Math as a Foreign Language

398 years ago, Galileo Galilei, the Italian astronomer and physicist, said that Mathematics is the language in which God has written the universe. Opere Il Saggiatore, 1623:[The universe] cannot be read until we have learnt the language and become familiar with the characters in which it is written. It is written in mathematical language, and the letters are triangles, circles and other geometrical figures, without which means it is humanly impossible to comprehend a single word.

4 - Solutions

Math is the Universal Language of Science

• Words - Vocabulary
• Symbols

• Grammar - whole system
• Syntax - structure
• Writing Conventions
• Patterns and Shapes
• Facts and Forces

• Interpretation + Translation
• Fluency - express many ways

4 - Solutions - A Math Look

Math Language Fluency

4 - Solutions - A Math Look

Express many ways.

Strategies

Solutions

• Mask to reduce visual stimuli & isolate digits
• Authentic / Constructive Assessments
• Reason Verbally
• Color-code and Illustrate
• Chunk and Simplify
• Master Directionality + Orientation
• Free up processing capacity w/ instant access to resources
• Positive Experiences!
• Reduce cognitive load with tools that preserve number, visualize number relationships, model quantities, facilitate calculation and encourage deep understanding and math language fluency (reading, writing, listening, speaking, reasoning).

Gb

uni-

THANK YOU!

QUESTIONS?

www.DYSCALCULIA.ORG renee@dyscalculia.org

mm

dyscalculia.org/anxiety

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