Neuroscience and didactics: on the use of fingers in learners with Specific Disorder of Arithmetic Skills
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7346/-fei-XXI-03-23_06Keywords:
Neuroscience, Didactics, Dyscalculia, Teaching-LearningAbstract
Counting is a skill that requires the activation of different complex cognitive processes which for the learner with Specific Disorder of Arithmetic Skills represents an obstacle to finding a correct solution to the calculation. By examining neuro-scientifical studies it is clear that awareness of the fingers and their movement is important because they facilitate the representation of numbers in the brain supporting working memory, for the decrease of the cognitive load have proved to be a great help (Butterworth, 1999; Soylu et al., 2018). Even the theory of embodiment (Damiani & Gomez Paloma, 2021) appears to be in agreement and in favor of integrating the verbal act with the motor act. In this perspective, a case study in action research was conducted with 15 primary school children with dyscalculia, with the aim to responding to the following question: by counting with your fingers, rather than just mentally, what results are seen? The results revealed some interesting results for teachers and and for their teaching.
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