July 22 is Pi Approximation Day : The Math Struggle Myth

July 22 is Pi Approximation Day

The Math Struggle Myth

            July 22 is Pi Approximation Day and LearningRx (www.LearningRx.com), the largest personal brain training in the world, is using the opportunity to remind parents that the link between genetics and math struggles is mostly a myth.

            To start, it’s worth noting that there’s no such thing as someone being born bad at math, and it’s certainly not a pre-determined destiny. We do our kids a huge disservice by steering them away from the challenges of math to alleviate their fears. Instead, we should be eradicating those fears by targeting the fundamental building blocks to learning math: cognitive skills.

            Although genetics can play a role, most people with dyscalculia (“trouble with numbers”) have poor visual processing and memory skills. For example, weak visual processing skills might cause someone to transpose numbers (68 becomes 86). When working memory is weak, someone doing mental math (say, 23 +28) might forget that they “carried the one,” leading them to answer 41 instead of 51. Most blocks to excelling in math aren’t about information, but rather are linked to the skills the brain uses to learn, process, understand, remember, and apply that information.

            So, how can you help a child that struggles with math? Have your student’s cognitive skills tested.

            The root causes of most learning struggles of ANY type are weak cognitive skills. With ADHD, it’s attention. With dyslexia, it’s phonemic awareness. With math, it’s usually memory and visual processing, among others. Once you know what you’re dealing with you can take measures to target those skills at home and with one-on-one brain training.

            To learn more about LearningRx personal brain training, or to schedule a cognitive skills assessment, visit www.LearningRx.com/richmond-hill.

About LearningRx^®

LearningRx-Richmond Hill is the first and only LearningRx Centre in Canada. LearningRx is the largest one-on-one brain training company in the world. Their training programs are delivered through more than 200 locations in North America and in 48 countries around the globe (as BrainRx^®). LearningRx has helped more than 100,000 individuals and families sharpen their cognitive skills to help them think faster, learn easier, and perform better. In addition to their in-Centre training programs that partner every client with a personal brain trainer to keep clients engaged, accountable, and on-task—a key advantage over digital brain games—the company also offers online training through real-time videoconferencing. This virtual delivery method allows clients to train from the comfort of their own home while still receiving the benefits of one-on-one brain training with a personal brain trainer. LearningRx's pioneering methods have been used in clinical settings for over 35 years and have been subjected to peer-review in more than a dozen scientific journals. To learn more, visit: https://www.learningrx.com

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