Inclusive Education for Children with Dyscalculia

This essay explains the matters that deal with the dyscalculia in children and attempts to plan a lesson that might help the teachers to incorporate the concerned children in the same class with other children who do not suffer from the same.

Running head: INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DYSCALCULIA
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DYSCALCULIA
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DYSCALCULIA
Part 1: Application of Universal Design for Learning in Children
The condition of dyscalculia refers to the condition faced by the children that relates to
the complexities that is faced by the concerned child in the comprehension and the learning of
arithmetic. This might refer to the conditions wherein the student faces difficulty in the
understanding of the numbers, the knowledge in the matters that deal with the manipulation of
the and the knowledge of the mathematical facts (Kaufmann et al., 2013). The conditions of
dyscalculia might be considered to be the equivalent conditions like that of the dyslexia. The
children suffering from the condition of dyscalculia are known to complain about their inability
to decipher the actual number of things present in a small group on looking at the cluster for a
very short period of time (Szucs et al., 2013). The following essay deals with children who have
been suffering from mild dyscalculia accompanied by the display of the various symptoms that
are related to the behavioral difficulties. The following essay attempts an explanation on the
matters that deal with the dyscalculia in children and attempts to plan a lesson that might help the
teachers to incorporate the concerned children in the same class with other children who do not
suffer from the same.
The condition of dyscalculia might be referred to as the learning disability that might be
caused by the concerned impairment of the certain sections of the brain that deal in the
comprehension of the abilities of the mathematical calculations (Groome, 2017). The various
learners who have been suffering from the condition of dyscalculia might be observed to be
achieving low grades in the subject of mathematics and to take greater amount of time in the
comprehension of the various mathematical concepts problems that the concerned teacher might
have been discussing in class. The student considered for the project is observed to have been

2INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DYSCALCULIA
displaying the characteristics of a mild dyscalculia along with the display of certain behavioral
disorders that might disturb the learning processes of the total class of students.
As a response to the hugely popular concept of inclusive education, the teachers and the
concerned educators are being advised to create and plan lessons in a way that might help the
students suffering from mild and lower levels of dyscalculia to get incorporated in the same
classroom that consists of children who do not have the concerned cognitive disability. This
might help in the matters that pertain to the lowering down of the segregation of the classroom
into the smaller sections for providing the weaker students with a greater amount of attention
(Simms et al., 2015). The students who have been suffering from mild dyscalculia are seen to be
performing better in the situations wherein the components are introduced in a gradual manner
(Emerson & Babtie, 2014). These students are often seen to be better performers when they do
perform in the manners that involve the physical inclusion of the concerned subjects in the
scenario. The student is observed to be interested in the various activities that pertain to the
sports and other outdoor activities. The student is reported to have been having certain
behavioral issues that might affect the whole classroom. The student is observed to be very
enthusiastic and persuasive in the matters that pertain to the interaction within the classroom,
completing the classroom tasks that have been assigned to him by the teacher, answering to the
questions that are asked by the teacher regarding the matter that has been taught and even
helping his classmates in the areas where they might be needing help. The student is reported to
be operative in an effective manner with limited assistance as well as in an independent manner.
The student is reported to engage himself in the activities that pertain to the education through
the means of games, the ones that involve the minor calculations with the help of objects and

3INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DYSCALCULIA
those that would need him to indulge in simple mathematical calculations mentally without the
use of any notebooks or whiteboards.
The ability of the child to comprehend the stories and the simple calculations without
using any hardware has helped the student to interact with the other classmates that accompany
him to the same classroom. However, the student faces various issues due to the demonstration
of the behavioral issues like the inability to concentrate on the matters that deal with the
cognitive abilities of the concerned student in the matters that pertain to the subject of
mathematics especially the complex calculations (Price & Ansari, 2013). This might often lead
to the conditions wherein the child might display the outbursts in the manners like being
argumentative with the classmates, being unresponsive to the concerned teacher, being talkative
and unruly in class thereby disturbing the activities of the whole classroom (Szűcs & Goswami,
2013). These might also lead to the conditions wherein the student might refuse to complete the
given work thereby violating the rules that have been set by the teacher or the authorities of the
school. These conditions depict the fact that the concerned student has been depicting the
behavioral issues that stem from the intentional avoidance of the work at hand. The student
might also be observed to be distracting the other members of the classroom in various ways in
order to gain attention from them as well as find something that is more comprehensive than the
teaching of the teacher that he might not be capable of comprehending (Butterworth & Kovas,
2013). The student is further observed to depict the poor skills in the matters related to the
organizational capabilities of the concerned student. The student is often found to be unprepared
for the purposes of attending two consecutive classes. This might help the observer to point out
the fact that the concerned student has been displaying the skills that might term him to be
having very poor organizational skills.

4INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DYSCALCULIA
The idea of the Universal Design for Learning operates on the basic notion of the creation
of a classroom area wherein the needs of each and every student would be catered to. The
concept might involve the use of the various facilities that are needed for providing the
concerned students with the required help. The concept in discussion might also involve the
incorporation of the students who have been suffering from the various forms of mild interactive
disorders that might include the cognitive and comprehensive skills that need to be displayed in
the matters that pertain to the learning of the skills and the knowledge that needs to be displayed
in the concerned subject. The Universal Design for Learning is known for the fact that it has
proved to be helpful in the matters that deal with the improvement and the changes that are
required to be made in the environment of the classroom, the activities that are undertaken in the
completion of the lessons, the use of the various equipment in order to aid the education process
(Gordon, Meyer & Rose, 2016). The process in discussion is found to be utterly helpful in the
matters that pertain to imparting education to those students of the class who have been suffering
from mild cognitive disorders as well as the various behavioral disorders (Katz, 2013). The
concept of Universal Design for Learning differs from the normal concepts of learning in the fact
that the former concept involves the changes on the part of the teacher in order to help the
concerned student to acquire the knowledge in the concerned fields. The concept in discussion
deals with the modification s and the understanding on the part of the teacher in the matters that
deal with the implementation of the lessons in a class wherein the students are generally allowed
to excel in the subjects in the manner that suits the concerned students in the best possible way.
This might help the teacher in the areas that pertain to the changes that need to be brought about
in the lesson plan in order to incorporate all the students of the class in the concerned activity
(Hall et al., 2015). The Universal Design for Learning involves the proper functioning of the

5INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DYSCALCULIA
three fundamental principles. These three principles involve providing the concerned students
with the multiple means of engagement, the multiple means of expression and the multiple
means of representation (Webb & Hoover, 2015).
The multiple means of engagement include the prior arrangement of a variety of
pedagogical methods that are related to the encouragement and the maintenance of the interest of
the concerned students. The multiple means of engagement might involve both the teacher and
the student in the improvement of the cognitive skills of the concerned student (Courey et al.,
2013). This might include the incorporation of material within the course of study that might
relate to the real world thereby helping the student to develop the cognitive skills that they might
have been lacking. The engagement modes of the students might include the intervention of the
teacher who might ask them to work in groups in order to achieve the target that have been set
for them (Basham & Marino, 2013). The lesson plan that needs to be devised for the student in
discussion might include the working in small groups that might need to accumulate a certain
number of items in order to achieve or be eligible of gaining a reward from the teacher.
The multiple modes of expression involve the prearrangement of the methods that might
help the concerned student to depict their understanding of the content that is being taught to
them and the different ways in which the students might complete the tasks that have been
assigned to them on the basis of the lessons that have been imparted in the classroom (Katz,
2015). This helps the students to explore their own strengths. The concerned student in
discussion might also be included in these activities. However, the student would require the
assistance of his teacher in order to deal with the problems that the student has been facing. The
lesson plan might incorporate the matters that deal with the implementation of the mathematical
knowledge in the matters that are present in the various days to day activities of the concerned

6INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DYSCALCULIA
educational institution. The student might also be encouraged to take part in games and other
activities that might require him to implement mathematical knowledge.
The multiple means of representation might involve the matters that deal with the
prearrangement of the various methods that are related to the comprehending capabilities that are
depicted by the concerned student. This refers to the multiple representations of one single focal
area to the concerned student in various different ways (Katz & Sugden, 2013). This might help
in the conditions wherein the concerned student might have the concerned focal area imbibed
within the brain so as never to forget the concept or make any errors on the matter. The lesson
plan that needs to be planned for the concerned student in discussion might involve the repetition
of the same type of mathematical problems in different scenarios. The students are advised to
take part in breathing exercises or meditations in order to concentrate on the mathematical
problem that the teacher has aimed to teach at the class.

7INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DYSCALCULIA
Part 2: Lesson Plan
Color key
Multiple means of representation
Multiple means of expression
Multiple means of engagement
Mathematics
Timing Organization Teaching Strategies
5 minutes Mark Roll Instruction to engage in prayer
10 minutes PowerPoint
Mathematical
sheets
Facilitation of the classroom discussion on the various
mathematical operations. Provide the students with the
various mathematical functions. Use of the various
images to explain the mathematical functions. Provide
students with the mathematical sheets in order to help
them comprehend the functions. Inform the students
that these are available all around them.
15 minutes PowerPoint Continuation of the classroom discussion with the use
of images that involve the everyday mathematical
applications. Students would be encouraged to answer
the situations by themselves before the slide displays
the answer.

8INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DYSCALCULIA
The students would be asked to work in groups as per
discussion with the teacher. They are asked to compose
a set of answers to the questions that were put forth in
the PowerPoint slides.
15 minutes YouTube The students are shown two clips that deal with
mathematical applications and asked to differentiate
between them. The students are instructed to note down
the mathematical operations that have been portrayed.
The students are allowed to work in groups.
5 minutes Whiteboard The students are encouraged to take part in the
classroom discussions on the mathematical operators
that were discussed in the clips.
The teacher might pen down the basic tenets of the
mathematical operations that were demonstrated
through the video clips.

9INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DYSCALCULIA
References
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through universal design for learning. Teaching Exceptional Children, 45(4), 8-15.
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10INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DYSCALCULIA
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