Developing appropriate mathematical experiences for the slow learner in the regular classroom : a guide for primary teachers

Abstract

Children with experientially impoverished backgrounds enter school possessing mathematical skills inferior to those of their more fortunate peers. Rather than expose these children to a second rate mathematics program which will perpetuate this retarded development and thereby accentuate differences through grouping, it is proffered that the Investigating School Mathematics series can be used with all students in a way which is cognitively in keeping with their development while simultaneously respecting and fostering their affective development. -- To demonstrate how this can be done, a guide for working with slow learners in Kindergarten, Grade I and Grade II was developed. This guide draws heavily upon the developmental theory of Jean Piaget for its rationale while incorporating the teaching suggestions of the Investigating School Mathematics program and those of successful teachers in the Bay St. George R.C. School Board system.