1 TouchMath Scaling the First Obstacle to the Conquest of Numeracy Paul Helgesen P188X June 10, 2011

2 Introduction My Population 6 th 7 th Grade District 75 Special Ed Disability: Autism Classroom setting: Non-speakers Functional Level: Pre-K 6 boys, 4 in in pampers

3 Assessment Math/Numeracy Competence Instruction: Place the flashcards in order

4 Assessment Math/Numeracy Competence Student who laid out the flashcards as follows Is he ready for the next step, namely simple addition?

5 Assessment Math/Numeracy Competence Student laid out the flashcards as follows But he may merely have remembered their positional location In other words, he knows that the follows the And that the follows the

6 Assessment Math/Numeracy Competence Student laid out the flashcards as follows He DID NOT know that ‘5’ is to the immediate right of ‘4’ because it is ONE MORE than ‘4’. To him, ‘3’ ‘4’ and ‘5’ are merely symbols, without meaning. He needs to be instructed in: Standard: 1.CN.2 Understand the connections between numbers and the quantities they represent

7 Assessment Math/Numeracy Competence

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10 Assessment Math/Numeracy Competence This approach worked for SOME students, but it still got fuzzy once the number of ‘dots’ exceeded 6 or 7 ENTER TOUCHMATH

11 Breakthrough Math/Numeracy Competence Each integer is endowed with a TOUCHVALUE equal to its own identity The integers 1 through 5 are pretty straight-forward. Here, the dots are ON THE NUMBER, rather than formed by a more distant association such as = 3

12 Breakthrough Math/Numeracy Competence Each integer is endowed with a TOUCHVALUE equal to its own identity The remaining integers 6 through 9 (more than you can count on one hand) contain DOUBLE TouchValues. When students assess an integer’s value, they first count the doubles, as in 1-2, then look for the possible single value.

13 Summary Students first learn to SEQUENCE (rote symbol memorization) Students next need to learn that each integer has a unique reference to ‘number of objects’ Many approaches may work. TouchMath has received high marks when working with autistic populations

14 Where to Get More Information TouchMath.com =freestuff.welcome =freestuff.welcome An educator’s view: effective-for-students-with-autism-a DOE does not specifically endorse or officially use TOUCHMATH, but many Sp Ed schools make use of it

15 Where to Get More Information A copy of this Powerpoint presentation has been archived at EDSE3801K.Tutor.2ya.com