“Forging The Future”. Dyscalculia and Dyslexia in Higher Education

The Dyscalculia and Dyslexia Interest Group (DDIG) held its second full day event on Wednesday 5th April 2006 in the Edward Herbert Building. The programme included both key presentations and optional sessions. The key presentations focused on Maths Anxiety, mathematical resources and calculators and dyslexia. Dr. David Sheffield, Reader in Biological and Health Psychology from the Department of Psychology and Mental Health at Staffordshire University asked “How Does Anxiety Influence Maths Performance and What Can We do About It?” His research has shown that Maths anxiety has an effect on accuracy, particularly when performing a secondary task that puts heavy demands on working memory, that students with high levels of maths anxiety reported greater anxiety and performed less well, particularly with respect to sums involving carry operations, compared to non-anxious students….