Numeracy Case Study

Mohammad Sajid
25/5/15
Introduction
To maintain confidentiality, the learner in this case study will be referred to
as Tahir. He is a 15 year old home educated learner who receives who
receives additional tuition at Halesowen College for two days a week as
part of the Inspire programme.
Numeracy History
Tahir experienced problems with bullying during his schooling. His family
took a decision to home educate him instead. This has severely disrupted
his learning and he lags behind comparable learners of his age (cross
reference with ILP, 20/1/15).
It is also suspected that he may have a pre-existing medical condition that
affects his learning. As well as concentration issues, he has issues relating
to spatial awareness and coordination that impact his ability to understand
and decode texts.
Maths was not an enjoyable lesson for Tahir at school and the negative
associations with the subject have persisted. He struggles to retain basic
information from week to week. He also has problems with calculations by
hand and is more comfortable with using a calculator.

Numeracy Needs Based on Assessment

At initial assessment, Tahir was found to be working at Entry Level 2. This
revealed issues relating to subtraction, multiplication, time, dates. Further
formative assessment revealed a lack of basic knowledge such as times
tables. He also had issues with fractions and reading data tables.
Standards/Curricula Used to Inform Support
The Adult Core Curriculum was used to identify Entry level competencies
that Tahir needed to achieve to prepare him to eventually take two FSMQ
examinations (AQA, 2010): Using Data (eg HD1/E2.1) and Money
Management (eg MSS1/E3.2). The National Occupational Standards for
Learning Support Staff were also used to ensure that his support was
effective (Excellence Gateway, 2009).
Common Errors and Misconceptions
Tahir has poor understanding of place value that also impacts his ability to
round up and round down. He has problems with division and subtraction
where he transposes the numbers resulting in an incorrect answer.
He also has problems with fractions such as addition. He struggles to
understand the difference between denominators and numerators, so will
add all the denominators and all the numerators.

He also has problems with addition by hand and forgets to carry numbers.
When multiplying multi-digit numbers by hand, he will forget to shift across
as he multiplies tens and hundreds.
Support Strategies and Methods
I was asked to support Tahir for one hour per week as part of the Pathways
to Learning Support programme. This involved close support in class to
help raise his working level. He has attention issues, so one of the main
support strategies was to help keep him on task and maintain focus.
He would often struggle with understanding how to begin a task. This
involved scaffolding until he was comfortable with the steps required.
However his attendance has not been consistent and homework tasks are
not always completed. This has affected his retention of knowledge (cross
reference with ILP, 28/1/15).
To avoid overdependence of scaffolding, learning by asking was used.
Rather than giving him the information, questioning was used to check prior
knowledge and recall. Tasks were also modelled on a whiteboard with Tahir
being questioned at every step to check understanding.
Independent learning was encouraged through giving Tahir space to
complete tasks without close supervision.
Verbal feedback was given to the learner in class as part of formative
assessment. Critical incidents and general issues were also discussed with
the class tutor.

Impact of Support on Progress and Achievement

Support has had some impact on his recall of information. He is beginning
to become more adept at complex calculations such as calculating interest.
He received a commendation for improving his concentration levels and
consequently his abilities with numeracy.
However his progress has been adversely affected by poor attendance and
a lack of practice outside college.
Support Resources
Resources available in the classroom were used to support him. This
included a workbook, task-specific worksheets, whiteboards, maths sets,
and calculators. ICT was also used through the MyMaths site.
Bibliography
AQA, (2010). Free-Standing Mathematics Qualification Specification Foundation Level. [online] Available at:
http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/AQA-4981-4982-4983-W-SP.PDF

[Accessed 17 May 2015].

Excellence Gateway, (2009). National Occupational Standards for Learning
Support Staff. [online] Available at:
http://repository.excellencegateway.org.uk/fedora/objects/eg:6228/datastrea
ms/DOC/content [Accessed 17 May 2015].