Mathematical Learning and Its Difficulties: The Case of Nordic Countries

Räsänen, Pekka; Daland, Espen; Dalvang, Tone; Engström, Arne; Korhonen, Jari; Kristinsdóttir, Jónína Vala; Lindenskov, Lena; Lindhardt, Bent; Óskarsdóttir, Edda; Reikerås, Elin; Träff, Ulf

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-97148-3_8

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The low performance of children from 3rd to 5th grade on basic arithmetic operations observed in the current study might be a result of external factors, such as socioeconomic status (SES) and educational experiences (Rasanen et al, 2019), the investigation of which was beyond the scope of this study. Even though Brazil is among the countries with high human development, recent reports nevertheless indicate that Brazil is struggling to increase its human development index (HDI), having been ranked lower in 2018 than in previous years (United Nations Development Programme [UNDP], 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

The quandary of diagnosing mathematical difficulties in a generally low performing population

Gomides¹,

Starling-Alves²,

Paiva³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Brazilian students’ mathematical achievement was repeatedly observed to fall below average levels ofmathematical attainment in international comparison studies such as PISA. In this article, we argue thatthis general low level of mathematical attainment interferes with the diagnosis of developmentaldyscalculia when the psychometric criterion is used: establishing of an arbitrary cut-off (e.g., performance< percentile 10) may lead to misleading diagnoses. Therefore, the present study set off to evaluate theperformance of Brazilian school children on basic arithmetic operations. Seven hundred and six childrenfrom 3rd to 5th grades completed a calculation task assessing arithmetic fluency in addition, subtraction,and multiplication. In line with PISA results, children presented difficulties in all arithmetic operationsinvestigated. Children performed better in addition than subtraction and multiplication, and 3rd and 4thgraders were outperformed by 5th graders in all three operations. However, even after five years offormal schooling, less than half of 5th graders performed perfectly on simple addition, subtraction, andmultiplication problems. Therefore, these data substantiate the argument that the sole use of apsychometric criterion might not be sensible to diagnose dyscalculia in the context of a generally lowperforming population, such as Brazilian primary school children. When the majority of children failthe task, it is hard to distinguish atypical from typical numerical development. As such, other diagnosticapproaches, such as Response to Intervention, might be more suitable in such a context.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

The quandary of diagnosing mathematical difficulties in a generally low performing population

Gomides¹,

Starling-Alves²,

Paiva³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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show abstract

“…The low performance of our participants on basic arithmetic operations may be a result of external factors, such as socioeconomic status (SES) 37,38 and educational experiences. 39 However, specific evaluation of these was beyond the scope of this study. Nevertheless, SES was found to have a significant influence on a Brazilian national measure of mathematics achievement 40 such that children with a better SES background outperformed those with lower SES.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The quandary of diagnosing mathematical difficulties in a generally low performing population

Gomides

Starling-Alves

Paiva

et al. 2021

Dement. neuropsychol.

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ABSTRACT. Brazilian students’ mathematical achievement was repeatedly observed to fall below average levels of mathematical attainment in international studies such as PISA. Objective: In this article, we argue that this general low level of mathematical attainment may interfere with the diagnosis of developmental dyscalculia when a psychometric criterion is used establishing an arbitrary cut-off (e.g., performance<percentile 10) may result in misleading diagnoses. Methods: Therefore, the present study evaluated the performance of 706 Brazilian school children from 3rd to 5th grades on basic arithmetic operations addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Results: In line with PISA results, children presented difficulties in all arithmetic operations investigated. Even after five years of formal schooling, less than half of 5th graders performed perfectly on simple addition, subtraction, or multiplication problems. Conclusions: As such, these data substantiate the argument that the sole use of a psychometric criterion might not be sensible to diagnose dyscalculia in the context of a generally low performing population, such as Brazilian children of our sample. When the majority of children perform poorly on the task at hand, it is hard to distinguish atypical from typical numerical development. As such, other diagnostic approaches, such as Response to Intervention, might be more suitable in such a context.

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“…Additionally, overviews of certain aspects of Nordic research in DM were treated in the book "Mathematics textbooks, their content, use and influences; Research in Nordic and Baltic countries" [33] and in the chapter "Mathematical Learning and Its Difficulties: The Case of Nordic Countries." edited by Räsänen et al [34] in the book "International Handbook of Mathematical Learning Difficulties". They reflect the outcomes and interests among the Nordic networks of researchers of textbook studies and of studying students with learning difficulties.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nomad organizes yearly seminars for doctoral students around academic writing and publishing in journals. Nordic networks of researchers cooperate on specific topics or interest such as textbooks or students with special needs [33,34]. Among the papers we investigate from NORMA17, there are many with authors from more than one of the countries [45,47,49,53,[67][68][69].…”

Section: Nordic Collaborationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Nordic Research in Mathematics Education Illustrated by Examples from NORMA17

Grevholm

2021

Mathematics

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A characterization of recent Nordic research in didactics of mathematics is presented based on the 32 research reports from the Nordic and Baltic countries in the proceedings from NORMA17 (The eighth Nordic conference on didactics of mathematics). Recent Nordic research in didactics of mathematics is observed from several aspects such as choice of problem, theory, method, result, and target for the message. The analyses of the papers on different levels and from a manifold of perspectives build up an image of what Nordic research in DM (didactics of mathematics) contains and represents currently. The closeness and cooperation between researchers in the Nordic countries is characteristic as well as the breadth and variation in the choice of questions, theories, and methods. Research activity seems to flourish most in Norway. Small-scale studies as well as larger projects are visible. A variety of messages about mathematics teaching and learning for all age groups are directed to students, mathematics teachers, teacher educators, and policymakers. Quantitative and qualitative empirical studies dominate. Conceptual or theoretical investigations are rare. Studies of outcomes of interventions, including teaching approaches and experiments are most common, followed by studies of learning and cognition, including problem-solving. There is a need for surveys and overviews as so many new results are exposed.

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Mathematical Learning and Its Difficulties: The Case of Nordic Countries

Cited by 7 publications

References 13 publications

The quandary of diagnosing mathematical difficulties in a generally low performing population

The quandary of diagnosing mathematical difficulties in a generally low performing population

The quandary of diagnosing mathematical difficulties in a generally low performing population

Recent Nordic Research in Mathematics Education Illustrated by Examples from NORMA17

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