Nuffield Maths Event

PSYCHOLOGY & LEARNING MATHS:
Unpacking the Crisis

This event, held in partnership with the Nuffield Foundation, and Chaired by Professor Adrian Smith, Principal of Queen Mary University, London explored ways in which psychology can help children who have difficulties learning maths.

Click on the presentation titles below to see the full powerpoint slide shows (please note that these may take several minutes to download). Contact details are shown below each abstract.

Presentations:

Dyscalculia: what it is and what to do about it

A condition that affects the ability to acquire arithmetical skills (DfES, 2001) affecting 6-7% of the population. It is congenital, probably with an identifiable neural basis and can be a severe handicap. The core deficit in dyscalculia is a poor intuitive grasp of basic number concepts, which is each to diagnose using simple reaction time tests. Interventions should be targetted at helping sufferers understand these basic concepts.

Professor Brian Butterworth, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London.
Email: b.butterworth@ucl.ac.uk Tel: 0207 679 1150

Children's Reasoning and Mathematical Achievement

Research in Developmental Psychology has identified logical principles that form the basis for children's mathematics learning. Children's performance in assessments of logical-mathematical reasoning at the beginning of primary school is strongly related to their mathematics achievement one year later. Instruction that helps them develop logical-mathematical reasoning has a powerful effect in improving mathematics achievement. There is now a strong research basis for creating programmes that promote the development of mathematical reasoning both with whole numbers and fractions.

Professor Terezinha Nunes, Head of Psychology, Oxford Brookes University
Email: tnunes@brookes.ac.uk Tel: 01865 483770/1

Maths Anxiety

This looks at non-intellectual factors that have been found to depress mathematics performance, in particular recent research on maths anxiety and its concomitants. The implications of these findings for promoting wider participation in mathematics are highlighted.

Dr Karen Trew, School of Psychology, Queens University Belfast
Email: k.trew@qub.ac.uk Tel: 02890 974219

NumberTalk: Mathematical Skills of Children with Specific Language Impairment

Up to 7% of the school population have deficits in language, though their non-verbal abilities are unimpaired. Many of these children show substantial delays in acquiring basic numerical skills but less impairment in their understanding of arithmetical principles. Consideration of their strengths and weaknesses suggests the need for closer monitoring in the classroom and specific interventions that might effectively support their development.

Dr Chris Donlan, Department of Human Communication Science, University College London
Email : c.donlan@ucl.ac.uk Tel. 0207 679 4243