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EarthCalling
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01 Jun 2007, 1:31 pm

nobodyzdream wrote:
I guess that makes sense, but I still find it amusing I can do lots and lots of puzzles when I want to, but cannot figure out algebra/geometry. I guess that kind of throws off the teaching theory with it?


I think 90% of people with math barriers had bad teachers, and because as a society we panic over math and algebra, a lot of people buy into the hystaria and don't do well because they think they don't get math.

Basically it is all mind over matter.

Now some people do genuinely have a difficulty in certain areas in math. I for example could never memorize my "tables" others struggle with spatial sense, some people struggle with computing things in their head. But I think that the majority of people who cannot do any form of math have a different problem, a phobia or belief they cannot, usually from not being taught properly in the first place.

My son really struggles with math, but he is learning. It is amazing to watch, because he is actually learning how to pattern and memorize his tables and add and subtract in his head faster then I can or did, (and I did well in math in college, although I was a poor elementry math student). However, his teacher does not teach in his style, I have to take all the lessons everynight and convert them to "O" speak. It is exhausting, but paying off.

I have a feeling with your "tutors" this year in math, you may find the great big exciting world of Math waiting for you and actually understandable, I won't push "enjoyable" ... yet! :D



KimJ
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01 Jun 2007, 2:11 pm

my success or failure in math classes relied almost entirely on the quality and language of the teachers. I've always been a poor math student overall. However, I was able to tutor a girl in 8th grade math (practical math made difficult) using algebraic concepts and we brought up her grade significantly. (when I was in junior college)

Math has to make sense for it to be both interesting and memorable.



EvilTeach
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01 Jun 2007, 2:23 pm

If you study people a bit, you may learn that they tend to learn primarily Visually and Auditorially.

Everyone with a different ratio between the two.


There is a program you can find on the net, called [b]brain.exe[/b] which asks you a series of seemingly stupid questions,
and at the end, provides a metric about where your balance lies.

I claim that aspies, as a general rule, are visual learners.

Most math classes are auditorial.

If you supplement your childs math classes, with visual techniques, you may find that it sticks a lot better.

If it works for you, maybe some IEP changes are called for.



EarthCalling
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01 Jun 2007, 11:39 pm

My son definately needs the visual with the auditory in learning math. That is what we do at home. I try and make it as hands on too. For example, with fractions I will download fraction circles and shapes and spend hours cutting them out so that we can use them with learning the concepts. The school does not offer this for him, even though hands on manipulatives are in his IEP. I am having a devil of a time trying to get them to follow it! (but that is another rant).

I had him take the brain.exe test, it said he was 50/50 for left and right brained dominance. It stated that may be the source of some of his learning problems!

Quote:
You are one of those rare individuals who are perfectly "balanced" in both your hemispheric tendencies and your snsory learning preferences. However, there is both good news and bad news.

A problem with hemispheric balance is that you will tend to feel more conflict then someone who has a clearly established dominance. At times the conflict will be between what you feel and what you think but will also involve how you attack problems and how you perceive information. Details which will seem important to the right hemisphere will be discounted by the left and vice versa, which can present a hinrance to learning efficiently.

In the same vein, you may have a problem with organization. You might organize your time and / or space only to feel the need to reorganize five to ten weeks later.

On the positive side, you bring resources to problem solving that others may not have. You can perceive the "big picture" and the essentail details simultaneously and maintain the cognitive perspective required. You possess sufficient verbal skills to translate your intuition into a form which can be understood by others while still being able to access ideas and concepts which do not lend themselves to language.

Your balanced sensory styles, you process data alternately, at times visually and other times auditorially. This usage of separate memories may cause you to require more time to integrate information or re access it. When presented with situations which force purely visual or purely auditory learning, increased anxiety is likely and your learning efficincy will decrease.

Your greatest benifit is that you can succeed in multiple fields due to the great plasticity and flexibilty you possess.


That is a pretty big phycho analysis based off of 20 pretty random questions...

I did another left brain / right brain test with him on About.com, this one was for artists who paint. He substituted "lego" for "painting" and the result was the same! 11 right, 9 left, they rounded it to being even for left and right brain functionality.

By contrast, I was more left then right, and a little more visual then auditory. Not by much, but enough for my brain to function without me getting lost in indecision over how I should "process" the tasks / problems I am faced with...

He was also 46.2% auditory and 53.8% visual...



nobodyzdream
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03 Jun 2007, 10:34 pm

EarthCalling wrote:
I have a feeling with your "tutors" this year in math, you may find the great big exciting world of Math waiting for you and actually understandable, I won't push "enjoyable" ... yet! :D


lol, I sure hope so :D I have always had a hard time-I think it's because I don't do well multi-tasking (i.e. listening and taking notes or listening and looking at a diagram)-my brain just kind of gets stuck on pause mode. I do eventually get it, lol, it just takes a while-it doesn't really come naturally and I get really mixed up when different numbers come into play with something I know how to do.