JPSY_V3_N2_Art3
Will Dyscalculics Be Benefitted By Dint Of Visual Learning?
S. Praveen Kumar
B. William Dharma Raja
Journal on Educational Psychology
2230 – 7141
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2
27
32
Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Learning Style, Technology and Visual Learning
Not all children are made the same. Learning disabilities like dyslexia, dysgraphia or dyscalculia are either not understood or ignored in schools. As a result, the schoolchildren suffer for no fault of theirs and they lag behind in their course of learning. They may find it difficult to achieve the basic skills of learning such as reading, writing, reasoning or doing arithmetic calculations.
Dyscalculia, a learning disorder in which a student faces severe difficulties in mathematical computations, includes all types of difficulties in learning mathematics ranging from inability in understanding numbers to inability in applying mathematical principles to solve problems. Since understanding and working with numbers require mental skills, children who have trouble in visualizing concepts struggle with computation. A number of learning styles can be incorporated for the dyscalculic children who face severe problems.
Visual learning is a learning style which involves learning through seeing things. It involves the use of charts, graphs, pictures, diagrams, videos, transparencies, flipcharts, hand-outs etc in the learning process. Activities in practical Mathematics help students immensely in visualization. Innovative use of technology may help dyscalculic learners to overcome their disability to a large extent. Technology can greatly aid the process of mathematical exploration and clever use of such technology can help engage such students with learning disorders. As mathematics learning requires visual patterns to fully grasp the number concepts or computations, it is very essential for the schools to adopt visual learning strategies to meet the needs of dyscalculic learners.
August - October 2009
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