2nd National Dyscalculia & MLD Conference Downloads 2010

Dyscalculia & Maths Learning difficulties

Last year’s conference was a great success and really reflected the current knowledge and understanding of Dyscalculia and its implications for best classroom practice.
Please click on the links below for the speakers handouts.

Comments:

"Extremely pleasant surroundings. Information from experts rather than the usual facilitators. Felt that I was learning, rather than just sharing. Challenging and interesting - really appreciated the day. One of the best courses I have attended."

"The speakers were so knowledgeable in their areas, accessible, friendly and funny. There were a lot of resources and information."

"Very good venue and welcoming atmosphere. It all held together well - good balance between lectures and time to look at displays."

"Well organised. Good range of resources available to look at. Time flew by because all speakers were of a high standard."

"It is inspiring to listen to a group of experts and to see that Dyscalculia is becoming recognised more widely. Love meeting colleagues with a similar interest.  More ideas for the classroom."

"I came away feeling quite invigorated with some clear ideas and plans to put in action."

"It has given me a much better understanding of Dyscalculia and therefore helped me to think about how to adapt my teaching practise."

Dr Manuela Piazza

Neurocognitive start-up-tools in numerical cognition
Humans come to life equipped with sophisticated mechanisms based on parietal cortex circuitry for representing different aspects of the  self and of the world that are crucial for planning actions. These aspects mainly relate to space and quantity and include position, spatial configuration, size, time, and approximate number. While these mechanisms are functional at very early age, during development they undergo important refinements both as a function of pure brain maturation and of exposure to specific cultural practices. Manuela will draw upon the latest functional imaging and research data to demonstrate why and how understanding these mechanisms can have strong practical implications for Maths teaching and remedial programs.

Download Manuela Piazza's presentation handout

Jean Gross

Learning from Every Child Counts
Every Child Counts is a new national programme aimed at tackling numeracy difficulties early, before they become entrenched. Jean’s session will review the impact of the programme on individual children and on schools, and draw out the lessons learned.

Download Jean Gross's presentation handout

Dr. Silke Göbel

Dyslexia and number – what can we learn from adult brains?
Silke will review findings on number processing and maths in dyslexia, then present results from one of her studies on numerical and related skills in adults with dyslexia. Her presentation will end with an overview of research findings on the functional brain differences in adults with dyslexia.

Download Silke Göbel's presentation handout

Rose Griffiths

Helping Primary Children Succeed in Maths
Rose will outline the most important principles of effective teaching for children whose attainment is low. It will provide practical ideas so that the children you work with can enjoy maths and make more progress.

Download Rose Griffiths's presentation handout

Dr. Dave Hewitt

Stressing commonalities rather than differences in the teaching of mathematics
Many children have difficulties with mathematics and each class, even if organised in ability groups, is a mixed ability class. As a teacher of mathematics it is possible to stress the differences which exist between students and cater for those differences. Alternatively it is possible to stress what they have in common. This talk will put an argument for stressing what students have in common and ways in which we can try to access the mathematician within each and every student. Each problem a student faces with mathematics can be viewed either as the student’s problem with mathematics or as a teacher’s challenge with ways to approach that piece of mathematics. Of course, it is always a mix of both but sometimes the student’s problem is not necessarily concerned with the difficulty of mathematics and sometimes an alternative approach can allow what appeared to be difficult become more intuitive and obvious.

Download Dave Hewitt's presentation handout

Clare Trott

Supporting mathematics and specific learning differences in HE/FE
Clare will focus on the difficulties encountered by dyscalculic students in FE/HE. She will provide case studies and activities will be offered that illustrate the problems faced, together with strategies for supporting the student and promoting independent learning.

Download Clare Trott's presentation handout

Dr. Steve Chinn

Recent developments in classroom research into Maths Learning Difficulties and Dyscalculia
Steve’s session will cover recent classroom studies and other recent understandings of Maths learning difficulties and dyscalculia. It will also consider the structure of a test protocol for diagnosing Maths learning difficulties.

Download Steve Chinn's presentation handout