Vaughn Ch.15

 What are some of the  reasons students with learning problems have difficulty with traditional mathematics curricula?

Students with learning problems may need more time and practice to learn math facts and math computations because they often lack the "automatization" to perform math computation effectively and efficiently. Some of their difficulties may relate to understanding the problem, they may lack the computation skills to solve the problem. Some may have difficulties with motivation. Students have difficulty reading the information provided because the vocabulary is too difficult and the reading level is too high. All information in the book must be directly taught to them and the math concepts are often presented poorly. Information may be scattered and multiple concepts are introduced at one time. There are insufficient problems covering any one concept or operation and too few opportunities for application of knowledge learned. The problems are not presented in enough different situations for students to learn and transfer what they know to real life settings. Also, students already do have difficulty transferring knowledge to real problems. Students often do not have the necessary prerequisite skills mastered to move on to the next unit. In addition, students with learning problems may have trouble with traditional curricula because the organization of the text varies considerably and makes learning from the book difficult.