What is Dyscalculia?

Discuss about the Inclusive Education For Children with Dyscalculia.

The condition of dyscalculia refers to the condition faced by the children that relates to the complexities that is faced by the concerned child in the comprehension and the learning of arithmetic. This might refer to the conditions wherein the student faces difficulty in the understanding of the numbers, the knowledge in the matters that deal with the manipulation of the and the knowledge of the mathematical facts (Kaufmann et al., 2013). The conditions of dyscalculia might be considered to be the equivalent conditions like that of the dyslexia. The children suffering from the condition of dyscalculia are known to complain about their inability to decipher the actual number of things present in a small group on looking at the cluster for a very short period of time (Szucs et al., 2013). The following essay deals with children who have been suffering from mild dyscalculia accompanied by the display of the various symptoms that are related to the behavioral difficulties.  The following essay attempts an explanation on the matters that deal with the dyscalculia in children and attempts to plan a lesson that might help the teachers to incorporate the concerned children in the same class with other children who do not suffer from the same.

The condition of dyscalculia might be referred to as the learning disability that might be caused by the concerned impairment of the certain sections of the brain that deal in the comprehension of the abilities of the mathematical calculations (Groome, 2017). The various learners who have been suffering from the condition of dyscalculia might be observed to be achieving low grades in the subject of mathematics and to take greater amount of time in the comprehension of the various mathematical concepts problems that the concerned teacher might have been discussing in class. The student considered for the project is observed to have been displaying the characteristics of a mild dyscalculia along with the display of certain behavioral disorders that might disturb the learning processes of the total class of students.

As a response to the hugely popular concept of inclusive education, the teachers and the concerned educators are being advised to create and plan lessons in a way that might help the students suffering from mild and lower levels of dyscalculia to get incorporated in the same classroom that consists of children who do not have the concerned cognitive disability. This might help in the matters that pertain to the lowering down of the segregation of the classroom into the smaller sections for providing the weaker students with a greater amount of attention (Simms et al., 2015). The students who have been suffering from mild dyscalculia are seen to be performing better in the situations wherein the components are introduced in a gradual manner (Emerson & Babtie, 2014). These students are often seen to be better performers when they do perform in the manners that involve the physical inclusion of the concerned subjects in the scenario. The student is observed to be interested in the various activities that pertain to the sports and other outdoor activities. The student is reported to have been having certain behavioral issues that might affect the whole classroom. The student is observed to be very enthusiastic and persuasive in the matters that pertain to the interaction within the classroom, completing the classroom tasks that have been assigned to him by the teacher, answering to the questions that are asked by the teacher regarding the matter that has been taught and even helping his classmates in the areas where they might be needing help. The student is reported to be operative in an effective manner with limited assistance as well as in an independent manner. The student is reported to engage himself in the activities that pertain to the education through the means of games, the ones that involve the minor calculations with the help of objects and those that would need him to indulge in simple mathematical calculations mentally without the use of any notebooks or whiteboards.

Challenges Faced by Students with Dyscalculia

The ability of the child to comprehend the stories and the simple calculations without using any hardware has helped the student to interact with the other classmates that accompany him to the same classroom. However, the student faces various issues due to the demonstration of the behavioral issues like the inability to concentrate on the matters that deal with the cognitive abilities of the concerned student in the matters that pertain to the subject of mathematics especially the complex calculations (Price & Ansari, 2013). This might often lead to the conditions wherein the child might display the outbursts in the manners like being argumentative with the classmates, being unresponsive to the concerned teacher, being talkative and unruly in class thereby disturbing the activities of the whole classroom (Sz?cs & Goswami, 2013). These might also lead to the conditions wherein the student might refuse to complete the given work thereby violating the rules that have been set by the teacher or the authorities of the school. These conditions depict the fact that the concerned student has been depicting the behavioral issues that stem from the intentional avoidance of the work at hand. The student might also be observed to be distracting the other members of the classroom in various ways in order to gain attention from them as well as find something that is more comprehensive than the teaching of the teacher that he might not be capable of comprehending (Butterworth & Kovas, 2013). The student is further observed to depict the poor skills in the matters related to the organizational capabilities of the concerned student. The student is often found to be unprepared for the purposes of attending two consecutive classes. This might help the observer to point out the fact that the concerned student has been displaying the skills that might term him to be having very poor organizational skills. 

The idea of the Universal Design for Learning operates on the basic notion of the creation of a classroom area wherein the needs of each and every student would be catered to. The concept might involve the use of the various facilities that are needed for providing the concerned students with the required help. The concept in discussion might also involve the incorporation of the students who have been suffering from the various forms of mild interactive disorders that might include the cognitive and comprehensive skills that need to be displayed in the matters that pertain to the learning of the skills and the knowledge that needs to be displayed in the concerned subject. The Universal Design for Learning is known for the fact that it has proved to be helpful in the matters that deal with the improvement and the changes that are required to be made in the environment of the classroom, the activities that are undertaken in the completion of the lessons, the use of the various equipment in order to aid the education process (Gordon, Meyer & Rose, 2016). The process in discussion is found to be utterly helpful in the matters that pertain to imparting education to those students of the class who have been suffering from mild cognitive disorders as well as the various behavioral disorders (Katz, 2013). The concept of Universal Design for Learning differs from the normal concepts of learning in the fact that the former concept involves the changes on the part of the teacher in order to help the concerned student to acquire the knowledge in the concerned fields. The concept in discussion deals with the modification s and the understanding on the part of the teacher in the matters that deal with the implementation of the lessons in a class wherein the students are generally allowed to excel in the subjects in the manner that suits the concerned students in the best possible way. This might help the teacher in the areas that pertain to the changes that need to be brought about in the lesson plan in order to incorporate all the students of the class in the concerned activity (Hall et al., 2015). The Universal Design for Learning involves the proper functioning of the three fundamental principles. These three principles involve providing the concerned students with the multiple means of engagement, the multiple means of expression and the multiple means of representation (Webb & Hoover, 2015).

Strategies for Inclusive Education

The multiple means of engagement include the prior arrangement of a variety of pedagogical methods that are related to the encouragement and the maintenance of the interest of the concerned students. The multiple means of engagement might involve both the teacher and the student in the improvement of the cognitive skills of the concerned student (Courey et al., 2013). This might include the incorporation of material within the course of study that might relate to the real world thereby helping the student to develop the cognitive skills that they might have been lacking. The engagement modes of the students might include the intervention of the teacher who might ask them to work in groups in order to achieve the target that have been set for them (Basham & Marino, 2013). The lesson plan that needs to be devised for the student in discussion might include the working in small groups that might need to accumulate a certain number of items in order to achieve or be eligible of gaining a reward from the teacher.

The multiple modes of expression involve the prearrangement of the methods that might help the concerned student to depict their understanding of the content that is being taught to them and the different ways in which the students might complete the tasks that have been assigned to them on the basis of the lessons that have been imparted in the classroom (Katz, 2015). This helps the students to explore their own strengths. The concerned student in discussion might also be included in these activities. However, the student would require the assistance of his teacher in order to deal with the problems that the student has been facing. The lesson plan might incorporate the matters that deal with the implementation of the mathematical knowledge in the matters that are present in the various days to day activities of the concerned educational institution. The student might also be encouraged to take part in games and other activities that might require him to implement mathematical knowledge.

The multiple means of representation might involve the matters that deal with the prearrangement of the various methods that are related to the comprehending capabilities that are depicted by the concerned student. This refers to the multiple representations of one single focal area to the concerned student in various different ways (Katz & Sugden, 2013). This might help in the conditions wherein the concerned student might have the concerned focal area imbibed within the brain so as never to forget the concept or make any errors on the matter. The lesson plan that needs to be planned for the concerned student in discussion might involve the repetition of the same type of mathematical problems in different scenarios. The students are advised to take part in breathing exercises or meditations in order to concentrate on the mathematical problem that the teacher has aimed to teach at the class.

Lesson Plan

Color key

Multiple means of representation

Multiple means of expression

Multiple means of engagement

References

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Butterworth, B., & Kovas, Y. (2013). Understanding neurocognitive developmental disorders can improve education for all. Science, 340(6130), 300-305.

Courey, S. J., Tappe, P., Siker, J., & LePage, P. (2013). Improved lesson planning with universal design for learning (UDL). Teacher education and special education, 36(1), 7-27.

Emerson, J., & Babtie, P. (2014). The dyscalculia assessment. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Gordon, D., Meyer, A., & Rose, D. H. (2016). Universal design for learning: Theory and practice. CAST Professional Publishing.

Groome, D. (2017). That’s the Way I Think: Dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and dyscalculia explained. Routledge.

Hall, T. E., Cohen, N., Vue, G., & Ganley, P. (2015). Addressing learning disabilities with UDL and technology: Strategic reader. Learning Disability Quarterly, 38(2), 72-83.

Katz, J. (2013). The three block model of universal design for learning (UDL): Engaging students in inclusive education. Canadian Journal of Education, 36(1), 153.

Katz, J. (2015). Implementing the Three Block Model of Universal Design for Learning: effects on teachers’ self-efficacy, stress, and job satisfaction in inclusive classrooms K-12. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 19(1), 1-20.

Katz, J., & Sugden, R. (2013). The Three-Block Model of Universal Design for Learning Implementation in a High School. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy.

Kaufmann, L., Mazzocco, M. M., Dowker, A., von Aster, M., Goebel, S., Grabner, R., & Rubinsten, O. (2013). Dyscalculia from a developmental and differential perspective. Frontiers in psychology, 4, 516.

Price, G. R., & Ansari, D. (2013). Dyscalculia: Characteristics, causes, and treatments. Numeracy, 6(1), 2.

Simms, V., Gilmore, C., Cragg, L., Clayton, S., Marlow, N., & Johnson, S. (2015). Nature and origins of mathematics difficulties in very preterm children: a different etiology than developmental dyscalculia. Pediatric research, 77(2), 389.

Sz?cs, D., & Goswami, U. (2013). Developmental dyscalculia: fresh perspectives.

Szucs, D., Devine, A., Soltesz, F., Nobes, A., & Gabriel, F. (2013). Developmental dyscalculia is related to visuo-spatial memory and inhibition impairment. cortex, 49(10), 2674-2688.

Webb, K. K., & Hoover, J. (2015). Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in the academic library: A methodology for mapping multiple means of representation in library tutorials. College & Research Libraries, 76(4), 537-553.