Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

“Indefensible, Illogical, And Unsupported”; Countering Deficit Mythologies About The Potential Of Students With Learning Disabilities In Mathematics, Rachel Lambert

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This paper describes two myths that circulate widely about the potential of students with Learning Disabilities to learn mathematics: (1) that students with Learning Disabilities cannot benefit from inquiry-based instruction in mathematics, and only from explicit instruction; and (2) that students with Learning Disabilities cannot construct their own mathematical strategies and do not benefit from engaging with multiple strategies. In this paper, I will describe how these myths have developed, and identify research that counters these myths. I argue that these myths are the unintended consequences of deficit constructions of students with Learning Disabilities in educational research. Using neurodiversity to …