Project Leader
Diana Laurillard
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Project Staff
Hassan Baajour (Research Officer)

Project Details
Funded by Becta as part of its Harnessing Technology strategy (Personalised Learning, Social Equity)
May 08 to April 09

Project Web Site
Forthcoming

Keywords
Learning design, pedagogy, learning patterns, learning activities, generic pedagogic design

Summary

One important cause of low maths attainment has had little attention in the mathematics education literature: Developmental Dyscalculia (DD), which can affect as many as 6.5% of learners population. SEN teachers who work closely with low numeracy learners have devised highly specialised and effective small group learning tasks, (Bird, 2007). We want to find out whether it is feasible to provide SEN teachers with a digital toolbox for creating and sharing their pedagogic tasks. For current program prototypes and other links see http://low-numeracy.ning.com/forum

Project goals
To develop and test two pilots of teacher-customisable personalized software for learners with dyscalculia and other forms of low numeracy.
To explore the potential for digital manipulatives, to provide a richer experience than conventional physical number tasks.

Collaborating Partners
Ronit Bird, Freelance Special Needs Teacher, Harrow Dyscalculia Project.
Jane Emerson MSc. Director, Emerson House. www.emersonhouse.co.uk
Prof Brian Butterworth, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL
Patricia Babtie, Special Needs Tutor, Thomas's Preparatory School.
Chris Messenger, Mathematics Consultant and Coordinator for Harrow Dyscalculia Project, Harrow Achievement and Inclusion Services

Outcomes
The main output will be two exemplars of teacher-customisable personalized software for learners with dyscalculia and other forms of low numeracy.

References
Laurillard, D. (2008) ‘The teacher as action researcher: Using technology to capture pedagogic form', Studies in Higher Education, 33 (2), 139-154.

Bird, Ronit (2007) The Dyscalculia Toolkit, London: Paul Chapman Publishing.

Useful link
Centre for Educational Neuroscience - an interdisciplinary initiative across IOE, Birkbeck and UCL: http://www.educationalneuroscience.org.uk/