A trouble at the interface of different disciplinary fields (mathematics education, psychology and cognitive sciences): Dyscalculia.
Résumé
Research about dyscalculia still must be lightened (Lewis & Fisher, 2016). Various
interpretation perspectives exist but the dominant perspective focuses on individual’s
cognitive characteristics. We question the place of mathematics education in these
researches and the way to reconcile the different points of view to a better
understanding of mathematical learning disabilities (MLD). The
compartmentalization of approaches makes the communication between teachers and
speech therapists difficult. We therefore consider the reconciliation of approaches
through the creation of a mathematical difficulties detection tool that would facilitate
the exchanges between these two types of professionals by proposing a common
inventory of child’s difficulties that can be used by each of them.
To develop this tool, we conducted an analysis of different existing tests designed to
evaluate mathematical basic skills at the entry to basic school. To ensure the diversity
of theoretical foundations, we selected diagnostical tests from research in numerical
cognition, but also tests used in school designed on elements from mathematics
education. Analysis based on criteria from mathematics education and numerical
cognition allows us to precisely identify tasks and variables used in each test.
With this method, we have highlighted some biases of numerical cognition tests in
relation to what is taught and to mathematics education knowledge (non-evaluated
elements or questioning of the choices of variables). These elements confirm the
interest of mathematics education in research about MLD, especially regarding the
diagnosis. Moreover, further to this analysis, we can identify the tasks and variables
used according to the theoretical frameworks (mathematics education and numerical
cognition). This provides us the bases to build our detection tool which will be more detailed during the conference