Assessment, Learning Styles & Error Patterns

Slide 1

Anne Henderson
University College, Bangor Wales
Dyscalculia

Slide 2

Assessment Tests for Students with SpLD

  • Single topics - IEPs
  • Observe
  • Discuss
  • Do not pre-judge
  • Identify learning style

Slide 3

Specific Tests

  • Reliable test
  • Results
  • Provides comparison
  • Identifies difficulties
  • Diagnostic information

Slide 4

Dyscalculia Screener (2002)

  • Annual Licence costs £150 (manual +CD)- Licence renewal costs £50.00

  • Graphical display relating to

    • dyscalculia
    • learning / teaching difficulty
    • problems with symbols
    • average maths ability

Slide 5

Formative Assessment

  • Helps students to improve

  • Change in four aspects of work:

    • Question and answer dialogue in class
    • Marking homework
    • Peer and self-assessment
    • Involvement of students

Slide 6

Assessment of Written work

  • Closed questions marked in class

  • Decide carefully

    • what to assess
    • what outcome
    • specific purposes
    • assess processes

  • Open questions
  • Marking policy
  • Statements of assessment
  • Copies of marking policy

Slide 7

Questions

  • Better to ask
  • Tell an answer
  • Variety of questions
  • Listen
  • Analyze thinking

Slide 8

Different answers
e.g. What numbers add to make 10?
6 + 4 || 9 + 1 || 3 + 7 || 4 + 3 + 3 || 2 + 7 +1 || 2 + 2 + 6 || 2½ + 7½ || 4½ + 5½ || 1½ + 8 ½

  • What are you doing?
  • Why that way?
  • What have you learned so far?
  • Can you remember doing this before?
  • What do you need to know about that?

Slide 9

Closed Questions

  • Give a precise answer
  • e.g. What must I add to 4 to make 10?
  • Discover exact knowledge
  • e.g. What are two sixes?

Slide 10

Closed question - Open question

Closed Questions Open Question
  • Does that symbol mean add or subtract?
  • Does that fact help you?
  • Can you count these counters?
  • What is 4 x 5
  • What do 2 + 4 + 8 add up to?
  • What does that symbol mean?
  • How does that fact help you?
  • How will you find out how many counters you have?
  • If 4 x 5 is 20 , what else does that tell you?
  • What numbers can you make with 2, 4 & 8?
  • Can you say all the even numbers between 10 & 20?
  • Do you know all the factors of 30?

Slide 11

Learning Styles (Vail 1993)

  • Available for maths?

    • Listen
    • Importance of 'talk'

  • 2D or 3D material?
  • Simultaneous or sequential?
  • How does the student learn?
  • Eager to make connections?

Slide 12

The Verbal/ Auditory Learner (Inchworm)

The Verbal/ Auditory Learner

Slide 13

The Visual Learner (Grasshopper)

The Visual Learner

Slide 14

Differences in learning

  • Successive pictures
  • Two modes in competition
  • 'Mental zoom'
  • Verbal thinkers notice differences
  • Visual thinkers notice similarities

Slide 15

Language, Memory and Sequences

  • Verbal rehearsal
  • Activation of visual processing
  • Grid a visual global frame
    {Wilson & Emmorey (97)}
  • Simultaneous global viewing
  • Diagrammatic answers

Slide 16

Grid Reference (La Garanderie 1996)

  Visual Learner Verbal/Auditory Learner
Visual Teaching Perceived easily, (waits until whole picture is complete) Describes picture with mental comments
Verbal/Auditory Teaching Evokes a mental picture which blurs dramatically if there is stress Perceived easily
Kinaesthetic Teaching Evokes a mental picture Triggers a verbal mental activity

Slide 17

Effective Teaching

  • Better qualified
  • Inset training
  • Length of service

Slide 18

Mathematics Teaching

Mathematics Teaching

Slide 19

Types of Teacher Orientations

  • Different Orientations:

    • Discovery
    • Transmission
    • Connectionist

Slide 20

Discovery (Student - Mathematics)

  • Responsibility of students
  • Student's independence
  • What is learned
  • Lack of readiness
  • Natural order for all mathematics

Slide 21

Transmission (Teacher - Mathematics)

  • Emphasis on teaching
  • Access to maths
  • Responsible for learning
  • Manipulation of symbols
  • Same method

Slide 22

Connectionist (Teacher, Student, Mathematics)

  • Teach and learn
  • Teacher a learner too
  • Listens to student
  • Network of connections
  • Much discussion

Slide 23

Summary

  • If teaching is
  • positive, building on strengths,
  • multi-sensory
  • systematic, structured and sequential,
  • not overloaded,
  • focused on learning style,

when every individual is valued then it should be successful