Against the Odds: Insights from a Statistician with Dyscalculia
Students with dyscalculia are typically thought of by both researchers and educators as having deficits. The deficit language permeates studies of dyscalculia as well as assessments and documentation of students in schools. In this paper, we offer an alternative to the dominant narrative. We underst...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2018-04-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/8/2/63 |
| _version_ | 1798024417855406080 |
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| author | Katherine E. Lewis Dylan M. Lynn |
| author_facet | Katherine E. Lewis Dylan M. Lynn |
| author_sort | Katherine E. Lewis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Students with dyscalculia are typically thought of by both researchers and educators as having deficits. The deficit language permeates studies of dyscalculia as well as assessments and documentation of students in schools. In this paper, we offer an alternative to the dominant narrative. We understand disabilities, and dyscalculia specifically, as resulting from cognitive differences—not deficits—which lead to issues of access. We provide a case study of Dylan (second author), an individual with dyscalculia who decided to major in statistics at University of California, Berkeley and become a statistician. Although she experienced significant issues of access—both in the standard tools used to do mathematics, and in navigating the structures at the university—she developed systems to enable her to compensate. She collaborated in this research enterprise in order to share with researchers, teachers, parents, and students her experiences with dyscalculia and how she was able to succeed in higher level mathematics. Informed by previous empirical work, we collected video recordings of Dylan’s deliberate efforts to share insights and strategies with another student with dyscalculia. In this work, Dylan challenges dominant and problematic myths about ability and mathematics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T18:02:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9267dd75e30549069d8c056d497784a2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T18:02:11Z |
| publishDate | 2018-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-9267dd75e30549069d8c056d497784a22022-12-22T04:10:26ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022018-04-01826310.3390/educsci8020063educsci8020063Against the Odds: Insights from a Statistician with DyscalculiaKatherine E. Lewis0Dylan M. Lynn1College of Education, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USAIndependent Researcher, Seattle, WA 98195, USAStudents with dyscalculia are typically thought of by both researchers and educators as having deficits. The deficit language permeates studies of dyscalculia as well as assessments and documentation of students in schools. In this paper, we offer an alternative to the dominant narrative. We understand disabilities, and dyscalculia specifically, as resulting from cognitive differences—not deficits—which lead to issues of access. We provide a case study of Dylan (second author), an individual with dyscalculia who decided to major in statistics at University of California, Berkeley and become a statistician. Although she experienced significant issues of access—both in the standard tools used to do mathematics, and in navigating the structures at the university—she developed systems to enable her to compensate. She collaborated in this research enterprise in order to share with researchers, teachers, parents, and students her experiences with dyscalculia and how she was able to succeed in higher level mathematics. Informed by previous empirical work, we collected video recordings of Dylan’s deliberate efforts to share insights and strategies with another student with dyscalculia. In this work, Dylan challenges dominant and problematic myths about ability and mathematics.http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/8/2/63dyscalculialearning disabilitymathematicsaccessaccommodationscompensationmythscase studydisability studiesemancipatory research |
| spellingShingle | Katherine E. Lewis Dylan M. Lynn Against the Odds: Insights from a Statistician with Dyscalculia Education Sciences dyscalculia learning disability mathematics access accommodations compensation myths case study disability studies emancipatory research |
| title | Against the Odds: Insights from a Statistician with Dyscalculia |
| title_full | Against the Odds: Insights from a Statistician with Dyscalculia |
| title_fullStr | Against the Odds: Insights from a Statistician with Dyscalculia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Against the Odds: Insights from a Statistician with Dyscalculia |
| title_short | Against the Odds: Insights from a Statistician with Dyscalculia |
| title_sort | against the odds insights from a statistician with dyscalculia |
| topic | dyscalculia learning disability mathematics access accommodations compensation myths case study disability studies emancipatory research |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/8/2/63 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT katherineelewis againsttheoddsinsightsfromastatisticianwithdyscalculia AT dylanmlynn againsttheoddsinsightsfromastatisticianwithdyscalculia |