Hello,
I am an instructional aide in math classes at a continuation high school. The kids in my school have slipped through the cracks of the system, one way or another. There are a lot of problems at this school, but I can’t change those. I have to work with what I have.
What I have is a 16 year old student.
This student has LDs, but the wheels of the system are moving too slow for her.
Learning issues: She seems to have issues with short-term memory, processing and sequencing. For example, I draw a pie and divide it into three sections. Then, I begin to make a fraction…I put a ‘three’ for the denominator. I explain that since the pie has three pieces, a three goes on the bottom of the fraction. Then I shade on piece of the pie, and I put a ‘one’ as the numerator of the fraction. I explain that ‘one out of three pieces are shaded.’ Next, I make another pie, divided into four pieces. I ask her what number should be in the bottom of the fraction. She says something like ‘two’. I say, “Well, the pie has 1, 2, 3, 4, pieces all together, so a 4 goes on the bottom. “ She says, “Oh yeah! I forgot!” Then I draw a pie with two pieces. I ask, “What number would be on the bottom of this fraction?” She says, “…I don’t know…one?” After going over this idea many, many times, she eventually seems to have the idea, and can answer correctly. I move on to the numerator……I shade on slice of a pie…after going through the same process, many, many times, she seems to have the idea……but now has forgotten what the denominator number is!
I figure, this child needs time, time, time and patience, patience, patience. But also she needs to be taught ‘her way.’ What is ‘her way’?………Anyone?
Problem: The teacher says I can’t spend more than 10 minutes of class time with her, because the other kids need help. He says he has recommended her for special ed, and now it is ‘not our job’.
I have very little faith that this child will be put into special ed anytime soon, if ever.
Question: I want to help this girl. I have time after school to help her and she is motivated enough to come after school. I am hoping someone can read my description her learning and help me with some concrete suggestions as to how to teach her. She has had enough of her time wasted and I don’t want to waste more of her time.
Thanks,
Lisaa
Re: help me help her
Fractions is actually a complex concept and I’ve met students who have great trouble with it. I hope you get some good suggestions. You could always try Educational Care by Mel Levine and see what, if anything, he recommends but I’m not sure it’s a topic he covers.
Maybe you could try talking to her about representation. A represents the sound a. B the sound buh and so on.
Does she understand the numbers in a fraction represent the real pie and its pieces?
In the meantime, that you care so much about this student… that in and of itself is wonderful. No matter what grades she may earn, she isn’t falling through the cracks anymore. You’re right there with her.
She’s fortunate to have you. More children need teachers like you.
Re: help me help her
As concrete as a drawing might seem, some children have a lot of difficulty with symbolic art. Also some children, despite a polite demeanor, may be paying little attention to things that don’t seem interesting or only involve watching someone else talking and drawing. Consider getting brightly colored felt and cut out a pie with halfs in one color and a pie with quarters in another color, etc. Ask her to do all the manipulation of materials. My son, unfortunately, often does not find learning rewarding in and of itself. We have sometimes used reward systems to motivate him. In this situation I would offer to have a “pie celebration” (something low cost but desired by the child - even a favorite flavor of pie to eat might be enough) after achieving ten right answers in a row to “write the correct fraction” questions. Typically my son would then be motivated to keep a daily chart and start working towards the reward. Good luck
Re: help me help her
It’s a book chock full of suggestions about how to help children with learning differences. A little dry, it’s the best thing I’ve seen.
Educational Care by Mel Levine
Re: help me help her
I am a senior in college (with a 3.8 average) and I need to complete at least one math class to get a degree. Easier said than done.
I have been in a “finite math class” for the past 2 1/2 months and, as usual with math, I am turning everything around. Just like the student that you speak of, I often misunderstand what I am trying to do or forget where I am trying to go. Last week, I was getting lost within DeMorgan’s Law – where ANDs turn into ORs (or vice versa) and negations move from one side of the equation to the other (for reasons unknown to me).
I am now studying a chaper that is composed of Word Problems which are incredibly frustrating. If the scenario is relatively simple, I can get from point A to point B. But, this being college, simplicity doesn’t appear to be an option. As a result, most of my answers are wrong. When too many variables are added in, I lose my way and can’t not figure out which kind of math (permutations, combinations, multiplication, addition, subtraction) to use to unravel the problems.
I did have a college professor once, many years ago, who was able to teach me algebra (he had been diagnosed as “dyslexic” when he was in elementary school). He told me that he continued to receive failing grades in math until 9th grade. It was at that point, he said, that he realized that the prettiest girls seemed to be in the “smart” classes–-so he began to devise creative ways to help himself remember mathematical operations. It worked. His grade in math went from F to A. He continued on to College, where he got a Master’s degree with a double major of Mathematics/Chemistry.
He showed me what he had to do to remember the “order of operations” in algebra. He used “pictures”. As he moved between the numbers in the 2 parantheses (multiplying outside numbers and inside numbers), he drew connecting lines underneath. When he finished, he said–“If you have done everything in the correct order, you should have crab claws. And then, on the outside of the two crossed-over connecting lines he had drawn between the numbers, he added little claws.
Believe it or not, because of the cute little crab claws, I never had a problem with the order of operations in algebra again. He showed me a lot of other creative ways to keep things “straight” in my mind, and I passed that class with an 89 average.
The biggest problem that I have always had in math is the relation of one abstract thought to the other. I remember, in first grade, the teacher taught us that a quarter was worth 25 cents. The very next day, she was talking about reading time on a clock. She asked me to move the hands of the clock to a “quarter” after, so I moved it to the number 25 (I remembered that a quarter was worth 25).
She yelled at me and said that I should have moved the clock hand to the number 15. She said that I was lazy and I wasn’t listening.
I went back to my chair, completely confused and too ashamed to ask anymore questions. I did not understand why 25 was now 15.
My mistake was that I was trying to apply what I had learned about the quarter (measurement of money) to the quarter (measurement of time) on the clock.
A simple case of misundersood relationship.
Instead of yelling at and humiliating a student, a good teacher would take the time to ask why……”Why do you think this?”
Then maybe the problem would be brought to light and explained before it had time to grow into an insurmountable wall.
Personally, I believe that many young students have been been unjustly classified as “learning disabled” because of “teaching-disabled” teachers.
If a young student is having trouble with math, ask them to explain what it is that they are thinking as they are trying to solve a problem. If you can find out what they are thinking, you might be able to clarify and redirect the thinking.
Learning to picture mathematical operations (like the “crab claw”) in different ways, also seems to be of help.
Thanks for caring about your students.
Mary
Actually, it sounds as if this 16yo may have NLD (non-verbal learning disability), which causes great difficulty with math. If she can read well, NLD is extremely likely. If it’s NLD, a very verbal approach to math is necessary. In this case, not only would you need to explain everything verbally, but she would also have to explain everything back to you verbally, and would also have to ask you very detailled verbal questions about every step of the process. It is tedious and time-consuming, but can work for an NLD child.
If, on the other hand, she has problems with reading, then a cognitive skills training program might help her. For this I would recommend Audiblox (http://www.audiblox2000.com) which includes exercises to develop both auditory and visual sequencing, short-term memory, pattern recognition, logic and reasoning, etc. Cost is about $80 for the book, video, and starter set of manipulatives. The program requires a minimum of 1/2-hour of one-on-one work 5 days a week. It usually takes 6 weeks for improvements, although some children respond sooner and some take longer.
In terms of getting her into special ed, her parents would need to make a written request for evaluation (see the “LD in Depth” section of this website, under “assessment” and “IEP” for more information), detailing her problems with math. When the school receives a written request like this, the legal clock starts ticking, and the school is required to evaluated her within 30 working days. It sounds as if the discrepancy between her IQ and her math ability would be more than enough to qualify her for services. However, if her problem is NLD, it’s not likely that the school will know enough about it to be able to provide her with what she needs anyway.
To find out more about NLD, check out http://www.nldline.com and http://www.nldontheweb.org (hope I am remembering those websites correctly!)
Mary