1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,320 Welcome to What in the World is Dyscalculia, a podcast that focuses on the specific learning 2 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:11,520 disorder that impacts math. 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:17,960 This podcast is presented by Educalc Learning and I'm your host, Dr. Honora Wall, Dyscalculia 4 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,880 Specialist and Student Advocate, and I'm excited to be with you today. 5 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:31,680 I'm right in the middle of recording voiceover for our Dyscalculia Specialist Certification 6 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:36,400 Program and I had to take a break for just a moment. 7 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:43,760 I'm doing the voiceover for the lessons for middle school teachers and I was thinking about 8 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:50,120 how many things happen in middle school math and how they impact students with Dyscalculia 9 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:56,280 and that's what I want to talk about in today's episode. 10 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:01,280 The good news for students with Dyscalculia is that once they get into middle school, 11 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:07,280 the Dyscalculia trifecta, time, money, and place value is gone. 12 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:09,560 We're not asking those kinds of questions anymore. 13 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:18,440 We've moved on to new topics and these new topics have some very interesting concerns 14 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,760 for students with Dyscalculia. 15 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:25,840 So we're talking about sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. 16 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:32,480 Now the middle school math experience is very different in different parts of the country. 17 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:38,480 I do work with students in many different states, some in public school, some in private 18 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:44,800 schools, some who home school, so I've seen a wide variety of approaches to middle school 19 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:49,280 math. 20 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:53,360 Certainly some things are the same anywhere you go. 21 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:57,160 We have a lot of graphing in middle school. 22 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:05,040 We're introducing variables in a really specific way and we're learning all sorts of different 23 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:08,600 rules for how do you play the game of math. 24 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:12,960 It certainly doesn't feel like a game to many of our students but honestly that's what 25 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:14,460 we're learning. 26 00:02:14,460 --> 00:02:18,280 What are the rules to working in this math environment? 27 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:26,000 So let's pull these apart and the first thing I'll look at is the graphing piece. 28 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:33,160 So creating a graph involves taking an equation, later on called taking a function, they mean 29 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:43,320 the same thing, and plugging in some x value, some kind of number, any number at all. 30 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:47,400 These were given those numbers, sometimes we get to make them up. 31 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:53,400 We put that number into the equation, we do the work and we see what happens. 32 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:59,160 Then we take our input and output and we make a picture out of it. 33 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,320 That's our creating a graph. 34 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:08,520 This can be troublesome for students who still have low numeracy skills and haven't really 35 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:16,600 worked with the support tools to support their numeracy or feel good about solving math problems. 36 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:18,240 Use a calculator. 37 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:22,160 If you're not allowed to use a calculator in the classroom or as a teacher if you're 38 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:27,640 very resistant still to letting students use a calculator in the classroom, just use the 39 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:33,200 calculator at home so at least you're having successful math experiences you can reflect 40 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:41,800 on and you're practicing the skills and that will translate into classroom performance. 41 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:45,960 And teachers, the calculator is simply a tool. 42 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:53,920 Let's train students how to use them properly so that they can focus on the purpose of these 43 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:57,720 equations, the purpose of these functions. 44 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:03,480 Just move away from the numeracy focus and get into the graphing focus. 45 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:09,960 Coming out of the other way, reading a graph means that we're looking at the picture and 46 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:12,360 then trying to figure out what happened. 47 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:16,160 Trying to figure out what are the important parts of this graph. 48 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,880 Where are we touching the Y axis? 49 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:24,280 What does the intercept, what does that mean? 50 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:28,760 Only in middle school we're only looking for the Y intercept. 51 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:35,080 But sometimes we have the X intercepts, sometimes that comes into play later. 52 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:39,140 These can be confusing topics for students and looking at a graph or looking at a graph 53 00:04:39,140 --> 00:04:43,680 paper may be the X and Y axis stand out. 54 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:48,280 But maybe they don't seem to be very much different from the other lines on our graph 55 00:04:48,280 --> 00:04:51,440 paper or on our coordinate grid. 56 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:55,640 As teachers we want to spend a little more time talking with our students and making 57 00:04:55,640 --> 00:05:02,600 sure that they know exactly what the axis line is, exactly what the intercept means. 58 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:08,040 Explaining slope and looking at slope from a graph can be very strange topics to explain. 59 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:12,800 Especially for students with dyscalculia because a lot of times they're very linear concrete 60 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:13,800 thinkers. 61 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:19,680 They need a little more time to really feel comfortable with abstract thoughts and processes 62 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:21,800 that are making a lot of sense. 63 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:28,600 Especially when it happens in math class which is already not making a lot of sense. 64 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:33,680 One of the great things about teaching students with dyscalculia is that you're going to become 65 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:39,200 a much better math teacher because you're going to have to find new ways of explaining 66 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:43,080 concepts. 67 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:52,960 You're going to have to find new tricks and new methods and new analogies and new metaphors. 68 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:57,040 And you're probably going to find that your students with dyscalculia are better either 69 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:03,680 at creating or at reading graphs depending on their visual spatial skills and depending 70 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:12,880 on how comfortable they are with different tools like calculators or times tables charts. 71 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:16,560 So that's one big piece of middle school math. 72 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:21,160 The other really big piece is the expansion of variables. 73 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:27,560 Sadly, we are pushing so much algebra into elementary school textbooks in a way that 74 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:32,520 is not appropriate for the development of our children. 75 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:39,120 That students come into middle school having been exposed to variables or having been exposed 76 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:43,080 to an unknown equation. 77 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:47,160 But that doesn't mean the exposure made any sense. 78 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:53,740 And it does not mean that for students with dyscalculia, the use of the unknown or finding 79 00:06:53,740 --> 00:06:57,680 an unknown makes any sense. 80 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:02,760 At middle school age, a lot of students with dyscalculia are still trying to become comfortable 81 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,120 with the idea that math is about a problem. 82 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:07,280 You have a problem, you have to solve it. 83 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:09,040 That was a big enough hurdle. 84 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,480 And now all of a sudden we are telling them well what about when you don't even know what 85 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:17,920 the problem is and you are trying to figure it out and work backwards. 86 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:19,280 Very tough skill. 87 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:24,640 So we want to give our students a little more time in this area and a little more support. 88 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:31,840 I do not recommend pushing students with dyscalculia into algebra one in middle school. 89 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,440 There really is not a very beneficial point to it. 90 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:39,360 There is plenty of time in high school to take high school math courses. 91 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:45,200 And middle school is our last chance to make a really strong foundation. 92 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:48,000 To find the places of weakness and shore them up. 93 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,720 To find the places of strength and expand them. 94 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:56,640 And to help students learn how they can best study, how they can best advocate for their 95 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:03,880 needs and how they can best succeed in a traditional classroom. 96 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:08,680 There is plenty to handle as a sixth, seventh or eighth grader. 97 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:15,600 Earning high school credit does not also have to be something that happens at this stage. 98 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:21,760 So let's let middle schoolers just be middle schoolers. 99 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:27,120 And with these variables we want to spend more time helping them develop a bridge to 100 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:29,240 abstract thought. 101 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:35,600 We want to reinforce working forward with substitution, putting numbers into a problem 102 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:37,480 and seeing what happens. 103 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:44,240 And within that same unit saying what if we did not know how can we work from there. 104 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:50,600 Remember that dyscalculia impacts the ability to remember and follow steps and procedures 105 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:52,000 and formulas. 106 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:58,800 So make sure your students have their formula sheet, their reference sheet, their personalized 107 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:04,360 notes where they've written down what they usually forget. 108 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:10,520 And they've given them worked examples so they can follow steps. 109 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:15,280 Because their parietal lobe is confusing this information and storing it almost like in 110 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:17,640 a mental junk drawer. 111 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:23,720 So it's hard to remember what to do in which circumstance. 112 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:28,320 Another place where we really want to support our middle school students. 113 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:36,400 Another big issue is that there are so many rules and regulations that we're teaching. 114 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:40,320 There are some things that happen only when you add or subtract. 115 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:45,080 And there are very different things that happen when you multiply and divide. 116 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:49,600 There are some properties that only apply when you add or multiply. 117 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:55,920 And they're totally different from subtraction and division. 118 00:09:55,920 --> 00:10:00,120 Sometimes you're allowed to do certain things and sometimes you're not. 119 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,320 In middle school we really start working with integers. 120 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:10,960 Well we've just spent five years or more telling children that they have to start subtracting 121 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:12,640 from the bigger number. 122 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:16,200 And now all of a sudden we throw that out the window. 123 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:21,800 This is very confusing for children and it's frustrating for many students with dyscalculia. 124 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:23,520 Because what are they supposed to believe? 125 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:28,600 That they were learning before or what they're doing now and why is it different? 126 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:34,400 We need to have an explanation for that so that students understand what's going on. 127 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:41,040 And we want to let them make those notes, have those references so they can remind themselves, 128 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,640 especially during a quiz or a test. 129 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:47,080 What are you supposed to do when you're multiplying? 130 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,800 When I'm adding things that have different signs that's different from multiplying with 131 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:56,640 the different signs, which one is which, which time do I combine the numbers, which time do 132 00:10:56,640 --> 00:11:01,800 I keep the sign, when do I get rid of the sign, when does it change all of these different 133 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:05,600 questions that come up for our students. 134 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:11,280 And I used quite a few different vocabulary terms in there getting rid of a sign or changing 135 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,440 a sign or what do you do with a sign. 136 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:19,280 That really mimics the experience of our students with dyscalculia. 137 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:24,640 We're spending so much time moving them through standards so quickly that the nuances of the 138 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:31,560 vocabulary and the essence of the word choice can get away from them. 139 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:36,360 So you want to spend a little more time at that part and don't rush through your topics 140 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,960 too quickly. 141 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:45,880 If you hear students saying something that's close but not quite accurate, pause for a 142 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:50,760 minute and help them with that accuracy and say, you know, I, I understand what you're 143 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:51,760 saying with this. 144 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:56,000 I think a more precise way to say it is like this. 145 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:00,800 That I think will help you with the concept or remember it more. 146 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:04,040 First of all, it will help them with the concept and help them remember it more. 147 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:06,720 Second, you're giving immediate corrective feedback. 148 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:12,480 Third, you're having a conversation with them so they know that math is not all take a problem, 149 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:14,720 solve it, turn in your work. 150 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:19,080 But no, it's a conversation. 151 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:21,440 It's something that we talk about. 152 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:27,620 We can go back and forth on how we both see it and come to an understanding of what's 153 00:12:27,620 --> 00:12:30,560 going on within a problem. 154 00:12:30,560 --> 00:12:35,280 That kind of mathematical thinking is what we want to develop before we send them off 155 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:38,480 into high school math. 156 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:43,160 Now interwoven through all of this is the socialization piece which is huge for middle 157 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:45,920 schoolers. 158 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:53,240 Shockingly to me, I still hear way too many teachers say way too many negative things 159 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:54,800 to their students. 160 00:12:54,800 --> 00:13:00,400 If this is a problem you're having, if social emotional learning really doesn't make a lot 161 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:06,240 of sense to you, you need to figure that piece out because if you are being negative with 162 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:12,600 your students and making them feel badly about themselves and they always know what you truly 163 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:18,720 think of them, then you're being a barrier and you need to knock it off. 164 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:24,040 It's not that difficult to speak nicely to children and it's not that difficult to find 165 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:30,160 something they've been successful in, something they did right, something that is a strength. 166 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:34,840 Look for those things in all of your students and make sure you're pointing them out. 167 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:40,720 That's very vital in a classroom setting also because how we treat children in front of 168 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:47,200 their peers is incredibly important to them in middle school. 169 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:52,880 They're defining themselves as people and we want to help them define themselves as 170 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:55,400 learners. 171 00:13:55,400 --> 00:14:01,840 Being positive, being proactive, mentioning and highlighting success and supporting them 172 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:08,240 when they struggle goes a long way to making them better students and to helping us have 173 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:11,840 a nicer day at work. 174 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:17,280 Another socialization piece that's important for this group is to use different types of 175 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:18,380 assessments. 176 00:14:18,380 --> 00:14:23,680 If you've done any universal design for learning training, you already have a good handle on 177 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:25,260 different assessments. 178 00:14:25,260 --> 00:14:31,120 If you've gone to any of my training seminars on how to use unusual activities to support 179 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:37,260 struggling students or if you have a copy of our games for the brain book, then you're 180 00:14:37,260 --> 00:14:42,640 already familiar with some of the different activities and projects you can do. 181 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:52,160 Art projects, music projects, crossover with the history department doing reports on mathematicians 182 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:58,880 or playing games with cards or with dice or making art posters to put up on the wall. 183 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:04,160 All of these intersect with math and mathematical thinking. 184 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:08,400 And anyone can win in this kind of an activity. 185 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:14,080 So students don't feel quite so put on the spot if they're failing or passing because 186 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:18,800 everyone has a much more equal chance at success. 187 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:27,120 This can open the door for your students to find access to becoming good math students. 188 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:33,360 And that is what leads them to future math success. 189 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:37,120 Well of course we want to do that in elementary and high school as well. 190 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:40,200 In middle school it's vital. 191 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:45,400 Middle school human development is a very unique time. 192 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:48,720 And it is true middle school teachers are the heroes. 193 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:52,240 I do enjoy teaching middle school but that is a tough job. 194 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:54,320 It is not for the weak of heart. 195 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,720 It is not for the mean hearted. 196 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,880 And it is not for the weak. 197 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:03,600 But it is incredibly rewarding. 198 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:10,520 If you are a middle school teacher you already know that this is our last chance to really 199 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:16,680 put those remaining thoughts onto our students. 200 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:19,440 Help them define themselves going into high school. 201 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:23,440 What kind of people are they going to become. 202 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:27,720 This is our last chance to make sure that they think of themselves in the best possible 203 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:34,840 way that they have really great habits for self advocacy for studying for finding out 204 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:41,200 information on their own for being engaged in the school process. 205 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:47,200 And for students with dyscalculia sometimes we've lost that chance by middle school because 206 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:51,280 a lot of middle school age students have moved to home school. 207 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:54,200 It was just too frustrating. 208 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:58,520 They kept fighting trying to find a place for success and trying to get help in elementary 209 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:01,800 school and it didn't happen. 210 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:03,640 So now they are going the home school route. 211 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:09,680 I have a lot of students who have been through that situation. 212 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:13,560 We have a lot of impact in middle school. 213 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:17,360 It can be positive impact or it can be negative. 214 00:17:17,360 --> 00:17:23,920 For students with dyscalculia very small changes on our part can make this a positive 215 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:26,800 experience for them. 216 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:31,120 Understand and recognize that there are visual spatial issues involved in dyscalculia and 217 00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:37,640 support students as we are doing more visual work in math. 218 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:42,200 Understand that the switch to abstract thinking is something that happens for each person 219 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:47,160 on their own unique timeline and it can take longer for students with dyscalculia. 220 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:51,080 They are very concrete linear thinkers. 221 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:54,120 And that is a strength not a weakness. 222 00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:58,480 It just doesn't always mesh very well with what we want them to do in sixth, seventh and 223 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:00,800 eighth grade. 224 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:05,880 And give them support tools that include reference sheet, formula sheets, personalized 225 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:14,200 notes and worked examples because we are throwing lots of different rules, regulations, properties, 226 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:18,680 order of operations, steps, procedures. 227 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:20,720 It's a lot to keep straight. 228 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:25,840 The more you support your students in keeping them straight the more success they are going 229 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:28,560 to find in your class. 230 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:33,480 The more success they have the more they can reflect on the best way to learn. 231 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:39,400 And that's how we really change the conversation for students with dyscalculia. 232 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:44,760 They can and should come out of middle school feeling great about themselves as mathematical 233 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:52,640 thinkers and is about capable students who can find their own success. 234 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:57,800 And that's our job before they leave us at the end of eighth grade. 235 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:02,720 If you have any other questions or comments about this I would love to hear from you. 236 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:13,840 You can email me Honora H-O-N-O-R-A at educalclearning.com or visit the website educalclearning.com. 237 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:15,760 You can leave us a message through there. 238 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:20,680 Let us know what topics you'd like to hear us address in future episodes. 239 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:28,040 Look at some of the books we have either through the website or on Amazon and find out where 240 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:30,200 we're going to be next for our training. 241 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:33,480 If we're going to be near you make sure you come say hi. 242 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:38,880 If you'd like to schedule training for your teachers let us know. 243 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:45,760 We're happy to come to you or to create something online if that's a better option. 244 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:50,840 I'm Dr. Honora Wall and I appreciate you being here today listening to this episode 245 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:53,760 of What in the World is Dyscalculia. 246 00:19:53,760 --> 00:20:09,840 We'll talk soon.