GCSE Maths for Neurodivergent Learners: Build Your Confidence in Number, Proportion and Algebra

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A valuable addition to any maths teacher's bookshelf, this contains clear, strategic advice on a range of strategies to support learners, depending on the obstacles they face. If you have been struggling with maths and find working with numbers particularly tough, this is the go-to GCSE maths study guide to help you ace your exams. In any maths classroom there will be children with dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and ADHD, plus many more neurodiverse ways of thinking. I actually enjoy teaching and using Napier’s bones with Key Stages 2 and 3, so I was delighted to see them used here…the problem is, sitting in a GCSE exam, it isn’t one of the allowable items of equipment you can put in your clear plastic pencil case. With everything tailored to suit young people who think and learn differently, this GCSE maths study guide has all you need to improve your maths skills…and maybe even learn to love maths!You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Packed to the brim with useful strategies and practical tips, it is aimed at those overlooked by more traditional styles of teaching. When used correctly, as objects to think with, manipulatives can have a profound effect on a learner and not only in terms of their understanding.

The focus on readers learning how and why a method works and the positive 'can do' attitude that permeates the whole text make the book an absolute boon to anyone who feels that maths is not for them. I won’t go into the detail of every chapter – but there were some I liked and some where I felt they were great for teaching but of little use in life or in the GCSE exams which they were being written for. We have all, as teachers, experienced the frustration of just not knowing how to get through to a child.The conventional approaches to education are ineffective for many people, which may result in feelings of exasperation and inadequate performance on the part of the student. Potentially more useful for teachers (and parents) looking for ways to teach, than for the students themselves. Exam preparation tips, a concise glossary, and a collection of photocopiable materials are included in the book’s last chapter. Addressed to the learner, it also contains approaches for specific key topics, meaning learners can dip into the sections as they need to support their learning. We need to find out what makes them tick, what their fears are, what their motivators are, and to help them to understand how they as individuals learn best.

The primary goal of this introduction is to define the range of neurodiversities that this book is intended to serve. With a range of study strategies and fun activities, the guide covers topics from fractions, multiplication and division to algebra, quadratics and percentages.

The way in which the material is presented is quite efficient, and the practise questions are of great assistance.

Sadly, the book didn’t go that far, and after some worked examples and plenty of practice questions (answers in the back of the book), we moved onto Chapter 2; place value and decimals.

Heather Davis, Independent Mathematics Education Consultant --This text refers to the paperback edition. I teach a L3 Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship Program and all my TAs have to pass level 2 functional skills in Maths and English before the end of the program (or have a suitable alternative qualification.