Inaugural National Conference 2009

Dyscalculia & Maths Learning Difficulties

Speakers and free downloads

Date: 19th June 2009
Location: London

Prof. Brian Butterworth

Prof. Brian Butterworth is Professor of Cognitive Neuropsychology at in the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. He taught at Cambridge for 8 years and is Professorial Fellow at the Melbourne University, and has held visiting appointments Padua, Trieste, MIT and the Max Planck Institute at Nijmegen. He was elected Fellow of the British Psychological Society in 1993 and of the British Academy in 2002. He is the UK’s leading researcher into dyscalculia.

Dyscalculia: causes, identification, intervention and recognition

Dyscalculia is as prevalent a learning disorder as dyslexia and has an even more profound effect on life chances. However, it is not widely recognised. I discuss recent research that identifies a core deficit underlying this difficulty in learning arithmetic, along with its neural and genetic basis. This approach forms the basis for identification and intervention. Government and educational recognition of this handicap is just beginning in the UK.

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Prof. Mahesh Sharma

Jane Emerson

Jane Emerson is director of Emerson House, a specialist centre set up in 1991 in West London for children with specific learning difficulties. In addition to its literacy work Emerson House has developed, through the pioneering work of the late Dorian Yeo, successful programmes for teaching children with dyscalculia and numeracy difficulties. Jane continues to teach; she also lectures and regularly runs, with her colleague Ronit Bird, teacher training courses at Emerson House on how to teach dyscalculic children.

Making Maths Real… What Works?

The use of concrete manipulatives and structural equipment to develop number sense and understanding enables children with low numeracy and dyscalculia to move from rote counting in ones as a main strategy to internalised cognitive models. This session will demonstrate how pupils can move out of the counting trap into calculating, using essential facts to derive answers and apply universal strategies with understanding.

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Dr. Tandi Clausen-May

Dr. Tandi Clausen-May has been a Senior and Principal Research Officer at the National Foundation for Educational Research since April, 1994. Tandi has been responsible for a range of national mathematics tests for 11- and for 14-year-olds. She is an author and teacher trainer.

Seeing and Doing Mathematics

Our pupils understand mathematics in different ways. Some can grasp ideas and concepts presented on the printed page quite easily, but others respond more readily to pictures and models which they can see and manipulate. So how can we make it all ‘click’ for pupils who struggle to access a mathematics curriculum that is bound up in printed books and assessments?

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Dr. Steve Chinn

Dr. Steve Chinn founded and for nineteen years ran Mark College, a school for dyslexic boys, which received Beacon School status. Steve is an author, researcher and international lecturer.

Making Maths accessible

The traditional demands of mathematics challenge many learners, especially those with special needs. For example, mental arithmetic requires effective short term and working memories and there remains a requirement to have instant retrieval of basic facts. This session will consider a structure for mathematics which maintains the intellectual content but acknowledges the problems some learners have with prerequisite skills and knowledge. Recent research into Maths Anxiety and teachers’ concerns about motivation will be used to support the proposed modifications to structure and pedagogy.

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