Dyscalculia
The basis here is the What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, which grades each recommendation by strength of evidence. Much of what circulates about dyscalculia comes from commercial sites selling a method — none of that made it in.
- available resources
- 21
- available resources
- Pedagogical Strategies
- 7
- Pedagogical Strategies
- Specialized Courses
- 5
- Specialized Courses
Explicit, systematic instruction
Demonstrate the procedure aloud, practise together and only then release. It is the recommendation with the strongest evidence in the WWC guide.
- Think aloud while solving: the reasoning must be audible
- Guided practice before independent practice — the most skipped stage
- Free discovery does not work here; the student needs direct instruction
- Correct immediately: a repeated error consolidates the error
Concrete–representational–abstract sequence
Handle the material, then draw the situation, and only then use the symbol. Skipping the concrete stage is the most common cause of meaningless memorisation.
- All three stages in the same lesson, naming the correspondence between them
- Do not remove the concrete early: remove it when the drawing suffices
- The number line is the most versatile representation — always use the same one
- If the student regresses, step back one stage instead of repeating the same one
Number sense and magnitude
Before operating, the student needs to grasp that a number represents a quantity and that numbers have relative size to one another.
- Ask 'which is bigger?' before asking for a calculation
- Estimate before computing: 'roughly how much will it be?'
- Use the number line to locate, not only to count
- Difficulty comparing quantities explains operation errors much later
Fluency with basic facts
Automating elementary facts frees working memory for the problem. Counting on fingers at twelve consumes all available attention.
- Short daily sessions, 5 to 10 minutes
- Work on fact families, not isolated times tables
- Timed practice only once accuracy is high
- Automating is not memorising blindly: it comes after meaning, not before
Word problems with explicit structure
Teach recognising the problem type, not just hunting for keywords. 'Altogether' does not always mean add.
- Classify problems by structure: combine, separate, compare
- Keywords mislead; structure does not
- Ask the student to represent the problem before calculating
- Work on problems without numbers first: 'what is being asked?'
Reduce the non-mathematical load
Long wording, cramped type and copying from the board consume resources that should go to reasoning.
- Hand out a ready-made sheet instead of requiring copying from the board
- Fewer questions per page, with space for working out
- Allow the fact table in assessments that do not measure facts
- Short wording, one piece of information per sentence
Monitor and intensify
Measure one skill every week and increase the dose when the line does not rise — more time, smaller group, more repetition.
- One objective measure per week, taking under a minute
- Look at the slope over four weeks, not at a single day's point
- Before changing method, confirm it was delivered as planned
- A short daily session achieves more than a long weekly one
Pocket number line
A personal number line the student uses to locate, compare and operate — the same visual support in every lesson.
Materials
Objectives
Implementation
Build the line together with the student and use it as a permanent support, including during assessment.
Sorting word problems by structure
The student sorts problems by type before solving any — breaking the habit of hunting for keywords.
Materials
Objectives
Implementation
Sort first, solve later — and discuss why two similar-looking problems fall into different categories.
Five minutes of facts a day
A short daily routine to automate basic facts, with the student tracking their own progress.
Materials
Objectives
Implementation
Work on one fact family at a time, prioritising accuracy before speed.
Foundations of Inclusive Education
Instituto Rodrigo Mendes
AVAMEC — the Ministry of Education training platform
Ministério da Educação
15 distance courses in special education
Ministério da Educação
Escola Virtual.Gov
Enap / Governo Federal
Escola Virtual — Fundação Bradesco
Fundação Bradesco
Practice guide: intervention in mathematics (WWC)
Recommendations graded by strength of evidence on what to do in maths intervention. It is the source underpinning this area.
Published by: IES / What Works Clearinghouse · EN · PDF
Open materialMathematics intervention in the elementary grades
The 2021 guide's page, summarising the recommendations and the evidence level of each.
Published by: IES / What Works Clearinghouse · EN · Site
Open materialResponse to intervention in mathematics
The earlier guide, with eight recommendations on identifying and supporting students struggling with maths.
Published by: IES / What Works Clearinghouse · EN · Site
Open materialFull record on ERIC
The guide's bibliographic record, useful for citing in school documents or academic work.
Published by: ERIC — Institute of Education Sciences · EN · Site
Open materialThe Inclusive Mainstream School
MEC/SEESP booklet on organising the mainstream school from an inclusion perspective.
Published by: MEC / SEESP · PT · PDF
Open materialSpecial Education from an Inclusion Perspective
Foundations of inclusive special education, an official Ministry of Education publication.
Published by: MEC / SEESP · PT · PDF
Open materialDIVERSA — inclusive education in practice
Free platform by Instituto Rodrigo Mendes with practice reports, articles and materials.
Published by: Instituto Rodrigo Mendes · PT · Site
Open materialUniversal Design for Learning Guidelines
A framework for planning lessons accessible to everyone from the start, instead of adapting case by case.
Published by: CAST · EN · Site
Open materialBrazilian Ministry of Education portal
Legislation, policies and official publications on special education from an inclusive perspective.
Published by: Ministério da Educação · PT · Site
Open materialProgress Center — evidence-based instructional practices
A collection of evidence-based instructional practices and support material, applicable across conditions.
Published by: Progress Center — American Institutes for Research · EN · Site
Open materialIntensive intervention — decision tools
What to do when an intervention produces no progress: how to measure, decide and intensify.
Published by: NCII — American Institutes for Research · EN · Site
Open material