Math

Many people have persistent trouble with basic mathematics. For some, the trouble involves calculating with efficiency: despite adequate understanding of math concepts, they have to stop and count up 5+7 or make pencil marks to multiply 3×6 or they forget the steps for long division.

Others have problems understanding the language aspects of math; they don’t make mental pictures corresponding to story problems to help them “see” that 23 chairs + 14 chairs can’t seat 100 people.

Still others have weakness in visual-spatial imaging, resulting in difficulty arranging numbers on the page or in “seeing” the space between 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Applied Learning Processes has developed an approach to improving the ability to think and reason with numbers that combines techniques used by programs such as Steve Demme’s Math-U-See and Lindamood-Bell’s®* On Cloud Nine. 

The emphasis:
• Discovery of how numbers work through using concrete experiences,
• Using language to think about and describe those experiences;
• Transferring concrete experiences into mental imagery so that the experience becomes internalized and can be applied to situations where numbers are needed in order to solve a problem

Students go through a systematic, sequential review of mathematics so that any weak or faulty concept is discovered and stabilized. Individual instruction is paced according to the student’s need. For example, a student who needs extra practice on understanding place value spends extra time exploring this concept, while another student might need to spend more time imaging numbers on a number line so that he can more quickly access his multiplication facts. 

In all cases, students think about numbers from an imaged framework that provides a strong foundation for independence in math.