Student: ​Hannah Jones Date:​ November 24, 2020

Reading Assignment:​ Chapter 7: Mathematical Disabilities

Reading Summary and Two-Column Note Form

Part 1: Summary: In no more than three separate sentences, summarize the key
information the author is conveying in this chapter. (Suggestion: Give a one-sentence
summary for each of the major sections of the reading assignment.)
Many students have trouble with mathematics simply because they believe they aren’t good at
math; this is why many boys outperform girls in math. In addition to this, there are still a large
number of students who, due to environmental and neurological causes, have trouble learning
mathematics (mathematical disorders), no matter what they believe about their abilities.
Teachers need to be on the lookout for students who struggle with math, so they can determine
what is causing the problem, and so that students can receive intervention as soon as possible.

Part 2: Personal Response

Write the words, phrases, sentences that Write your thinking about what the author
strike you. Note the page numbers. Provide says. Make connections to personal
no more than three quotations across the text experience, other texts you’ve read, and/or to
assignment. what you know about schools.

“This phenomenon is called ​stereotype threat​,
and it occurs when people believe they will be
evaluated based on the societal stereotypes
about their particular group” (p.160).
● This makes a lot of sense about why
boys outperform girls in math and
science, and why more boys tend to
enter into STEM career fields.
● As teachers, we need to be aware of
this so we can instill the idea in our
students’ heads that they can achieve
more than what a stereotype tells
them.
● This goes beyond boys and girls.
Students with different cultures,
languages, and ethnic groups
experience this, too.
● Fixing this problem starts in the
school, but it must reach outside of
school. The ideas of society need to
change so that groups of people will
no longer be stereotyped.

“About 6-8 percent of school-age children ● This number is shocking to me,

have serious difficulty processing because I didn’t know of anyone in my
mathematics” (p.161). school who had a mathematical
disorder. Now that I think about it, this
is probably due to the fact that we
were in different levels of math
classes in high school.
● I still don’t know of any students who
have mathematical disorders. I would
love to observe a teacher work with
one of these students, so that I can (1)
see the characteristics of the disorder
in person and (2) see which strategies
will work best for these students.
● Neurodiversity ​didn’t talk a lot about
mathematical disabilities. It’s talked
about so infrequently that I assumed it
was rare, but based on these
numbers, it is more common than it
appears.

“Studies show that student achievement in ● If a teacher understands math, the

mathematics is strongly linked to the students have a better chance of
teacher’s expertise in mathematics” (p.163). understanding it, too.
● This reminds me of Ryan Flessner’s
math classes. He always emphasizes
how important it is for us as teachers
to ​understand​ what is going on when
we do math, rather than us just know
how to follow a formula.
● When teachers truly understand math,
they are better prepared to help
students who don’t just “get it” or who
have trouble following a procedure or
formula. They are also more prepared
to help students who think of the
concepts differently.