Michael Brody is a twelve-year-old boy in the 6th grade at Dubois Academy middle school. He has been attending the school since the first grade. Due to his low mathematics grades, the student may be held back in 6th grade. The boy seems to have sufficient parental involvement in his life. Michael seems comfortable and speaks proudly of his family and friends. However, he demonstrates various characteristics of students with learning and behavioral disorders. For instance, he has a short attention span, wanting writing ability, and an inability to follow directions. During the mathematics lessons, Mrs. Anderson has observed that Michael finds it challenging to represent simple mathematical concepts.
In the sixth grade, the mathematical concepts taught include arithmetic operations, algebra, and geometry. Constructivism is a teaching model employed by the teacher because it is learning-centered, and it encourages the students to link what they are learning to prior knowledge (Bosman & Schulze, 2018). The teacher uses the VARK learning style model to teach mathematics. This model incorporates the four learning styles: reading and writing, aural, kinesthetic, and visual (Bosman & Schulze, 2018). Visual learners comprise many members of the class, and they prefer learning with the aid of images, graphs, and presentations. Auditory learners favor learning through lectures and group discussions since they value hearing the information. The reading and writing modality are suited for students who fancy reading their material and writing notes (Bosman & Schulze, 2018). The final group of students is kinesthetic learners. These learners move around a lot and cannot sit for long periods. Michael is both an auditory and kinesthetic learner. He has short attention and moves around a lot.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
When Michael is presented with a mathematical problem, he spends a lot of time trying to synthesize the problem. Diagrams on the test do not seem to help him synthesize the material. Mrs. Anderson assessed that Michael might have disturbances in the visual-spatial-motor organization (Geary, 2004). The learning disorder causes Michael to have a slow understanding of concepts, difficulty understanding pictorial representations, and poorly controlled handwriting. However, the apparent learning disorder does not stop Michael from trying to solve mathematical problems. Furthermore, Michael listens attentively in between his attention spans.
Although visuals such as diagrams and graphs hinder learning for Michael, the presence of models helps him understand faster. Concrete learning materials such as Stern blocks and Cuisenaire rods available in the classroom attracts Michael. For instance, Mrs. Anderson noticed that when Michael must explain what a triangle is, he looks at models and then tries to express himself. When Michael talks through difficult problems, he takes his time. Mrs. Anderson realized that he needed plenty of time to organize his thoughts and create the visuals for the questions.
Michael has a positive attitude towards mathematics. However, he can get easily stressed when his friends do sums faster than he can. During the lecture mathematics sessions, Michael pays attention for as long as he can. The teacher sees the effort that Michael is putting into learning the subject. If an appropriate teaching method is not employed, the mathematics grades will keep on decreasing.
To properly use the Constructivist teaching model, Mrs. Anderson tries to cater to Michael's Special needs. Since Michael has impaired conceptual understanding, Mrs. Anderson aims to anchor verbal constructions in repeated sessions using concrete learning materials that can be seen and felt (Geary, 2004). Moreover, Mrs. Anderson encourages Michael to describe mathematical quantities and their relationships verbally. The practiced verbal constructions will eventually replace the visual-spatial-motor organization that most people develop. If Mrs. Anderson and Michael continue in their efforts, Michael will develop the tools to succeed in mathematics.
References
Bosman, A., & Schulze, S. (2018). Learning style preferences and Mathematics achievement of secondary school learners. South African Journal of Education , 38 (1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v38n1a1440
Geary, D. C. (2004). Mathematics and Learning Disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities , 37 (1), 4–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194040370010201
