Heterogeneity of Dyscalculia Risk Dependent on the Type of Number Line Estimation Task and the Number Magnitude

Abstract

An ability that is impaired in developmental dyscalculia (DD) is related to number line estimation (NLE). However, due to variability in NLE task performance, group differences do not exemplify the real difficulty level observed in the DD population. Thirty-two of the fifty-two participants posing dyscalculia risk (DR) (mean age = 9.88) experienced difficulties in mathematics. All the children performed two number-to-position tasks and two tasks requiring a verbal estimation of a number indicated on a line, utilizing the ranges 0–100 and 0–1000. The results showed that the estimation error in the verbal task was greater in the DR group than in the typically developed (TD) group for the 0–1000 range. In the number-to-position task, group differences were found for both ranges and the variability within both groups was smaller than it was in the verbal tasks. Analyses of each of the 26 numerical magnitudes revealed a more comprehensive pattern. The majority of the group effects were related to the 0–1000 line. Therefore, considerable data variability, especially in the DD group, suggests this issue must be analyzed carefully in the case of other mathematical capacities. It also critically questions some well-established phenomena and norms in experimental and diagnostic practices.

Conceptual Understanding and Reasoning of Students with Dyscalculia: A Literature Review

“…Dyscalculia can make it challenging to perform a variety of arithmetic and numerical tasks (Ahuja et al, 2022;Dehghani, 2019;Fauzan et al, 2022;Kohn et al, 2020;Vigna et al, 2022) and to apply mathematical concepts in and out of the classroom (Fauzan et al, 2022;Firmasari et al, 2021;Vigna et al, 2022) In simpler terms, students with dyscalculia demonstrated difficulty in processing numbers (Gut et al, 2022). For example, they made more errors when counting and estimating numbers, comparing numbers, and performing arithmetic operations (Ahuja et al, 2022;Dehghani, 2019;Fauzan et al, 2022;Firmasari et al, 2021;Gut et al, 2022Gut et al, , 2022Vigna et al, 2022). Additionally, they displayed the use of underdeveloped mathematical strategies, such as verbal and finger counting (Gut et al, 2022).…”

“…For example, they made more errors when counting and estimating numbers, comparing numbers, and performing arithmetic operations (Ahuja et al, 2022;Dehghani, 2019;Fauzan et al, 2022;Firmasari et al, 2021;Gut et al, 2022Gut et al, , 2022Vigna et al, 2022). Additionally, they displayed the use of underdeveloped mathematical strategies, such as verbal and finger counting (Gut et al, 2022). One study categorized the various obstacles faced by students with dyscalculia that impaired their conceptual understanding of mathematics into four groups: spatial disruption, difficulty understanding concepts, difficulty understanding formulas or symbols, and calculation difficulty (Jannah & Bharata, 2020).…”