Math Education

¶ … Children Learn Math education, over the precedent years has been a contentious issue plaguing society at large. Many students, as they enter their preliminary schooling years, often have difficulty learning basic mathematical concepts. These difficulties compound as students proceed to upper levels of education. Throughout this process, math becomes more difficult for the student, often discouraging them from pursing math in a meaningful manner. Due to globalization, other nations are now becoming more competitive in regards to their overall workforce.

They are now more educated, particularly in both math and science. Their respective countries are also very ambitious in teaching their children about the merits of math education. Competition now arises from all corners of the globe irrespective of geographic location. Realizing that global competition, market demands, and business needs necessitate the need for a mathematically oriented society, America has renewed its emphasis on math education. One such theory regarding overall learning first attempts to understand why children have trouble learning math concepts to begin with.

The article entitled, "Why Students with Special Needs Have Difficulty Learning Mathematics and What Teachers Can Do to Help," was unique as it focused on fundamental learning principles in the design, learning, and application of mathematical principles. Also interesting is that the author focuses on why students with disabilities have trouble learning mathematical concepts to begin with. The article placed particular emphasis on the use of instructor intervention throughout the entire learning process.

The author provided 6 solutions that when implemented properly, can significantly enhance the overall learning process for children with disabilities. Of these solutions, the one that I believe with have an immediate impact on student with disabilities ability to retain information involves providing multiple practice opportunities for students. Through proper practice and repetition, students are more prone to accept and learn vital mathematical concepts.

As the age old adage states, "Practice makes perfect." Through proper practice with varying degrees of difficulty, students are in a better position to understand many of the more difficult math problems further in their overall education. Second, the author suggests using multisensory solutions through teacher intervention. The article states that instructional interventions should be grounded in a theoretical framework. As such, the information gathered prior, during and after the intervention can be used to provide further insights into the overall instruction process.

Students with disabilities often learn through various methods of instruction. As such teachers must address this issue by using a diversified approach to instruction. The article also illustrates that children with disabilities often have short attention spans. By implementing a multi-sensory approach, instructors are better able to hold their students attention while also facilitating their growth and development. Through subsequent refinements, a multi-sensory approach can be made to be more effective for the instructor (Brousseau, 1997).

The melding of both research, and practice, the author explains, will provide more insights into how to better teach mathematical concepts to students with disabilities. I chose this article primarily for its ability to combine why children with disabilities have trouble learning, with rational solutions. Math education, particularly in the global environment in which educators operate in, requires unique solutions. These solutions must be grounded in applications that benefit the student and the overall classroom at large.

Through proper research, math education can not only be more effective, but enjoyable their students. I read this article because it provides a framework by which educators can become more effective in their practice. Through first understanding why student with disabilities are unable to learn, can solutions be implemented. These solutions, as mentioned above, will significantly improve students overall productivity. Aspects such as a multi-sensory approach, use of extensive practice, offering meaningful feedback, and teaching in authentic concepts, are all important.

The author provided methods by which teachers can implement each of the above mentioned solutions within their own respective practice (Tiberghien, 2009). In regards to the overall application to kindergarten students with Down syndrome, refinement is constantly needed. Students with Down syndrome are unique as they require specialized attention and teaching techniques. As the article stated, children with disabilities have significant barriers to learning. These barriers include, attention problems, memory problems, and cognitive-processing problems.

The concepts garnered from this article will first allow me to better assess methods in which to properly teach these students. In addition, I will be better prepared to address these barriers, by implementing solutions that abate their overall influence on the student. Many of the methods mentioned above rely heavily on instructor intervention. Students with Down syndrome are each unique.