Creating+effective+worksheets

=__**TouchMath**__=

Children with learning disabilities can often become disengaged and overwhelmed if the size of a task is too great or if there are too many components to a task (Allen & Abend, 2001). This often is the case when the child is presented with a worksheet containing a full page of questions with brief instructions and little or no visual support.The child with the learning disability may find it difficult to complete this worksheet due to anxiety and confusion. TouchMath is an affordable, research-driven program which is based on the child development theories of Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner and leading educational psychologists today. The program has created an educational system for students with learning or other disabilities.It has adopted a multisensory approach in order to support students of all abilities and learning styles. The program provides sequential worksheets, supportive materials, periodic assessment and further teacher training opportunities. The worksheets contain a minimal amount of questions, detailed instructions, visual representations of the questions and tools to help the child find the answer. The worksheets also promote additional skills such as number formation and recognition as the child is instructed to say, touch and trace the numbers in the question. In order to support the knowledge needed to complete these worksheets, the program provides a vast amount of additional resources. These include flashcards, computer games and activities, CD's, charts, posters and manipulatives. The teacher can use these resources when explicitly teaching the whole class as they are not only beneficial for students with disabilities, but also for typically developing children. The teacher can give the child with the disability the TouchMath worksheets as an alternative to class worksheets. If the student continues to struggle with the given worksheet, the teacher can provide them with a TouchMath number chart, flashcards or manipulatives to aid them. If the teacher has any concerns or issues with using the TouchMath program, they can refer to the provided training materials such as DVD's and online seminars. This is an extremely valuable resource which supports and develops the mathematical abilities of students with disabilities.

Touch Math





Reference: Allen, C., & Abend, R. (2001). //Planning and Designing for Students with Disabilities//. Retrieved online: http://www.ncef.org/pubs/disabilities.pdf

By Monika Burzynski: u3041658