By Mikkel Kamp

This article is taken from NVL (the Nordic Network for Adult Learning). The NVL promotes collaboration on lifelong learning throughout the Nordic Region, and develops knowledge for decision-makers and practitioners. The network is a programme under the Nordic Council of Ministers. Find more content about lifelong learning in the Nordic countries at NVL.org.

Approximately how far is it from the floor to the ceiling? What does the sign "7" mean? Can you add up nine plus nine without using your fingers?

For most people, these questions are easy to answer, others just have to think a little, and then there’s a group of both children and adults who find it really difficult. This could be because they are innumerate. Innumeracy is a congenital, cognitive learning disorder, which is linked specifically to everything that concerns numbers, and is caused by a centre in the brain being less active than in others, explains Bent Lindhardt, who is one of the country's leading experts in the field.

‘It’s a neurological problem - a specific developmental disorder - which causes difficulties in normally gifted people. And a developmental disorder is more difficult to do something about than psychological problems or not getting on well with the teacher,’ says Bent Lindhardt, who is a lecturer in mathematics in the teacher training department of University College Absalon in Roskilde.

Innumerate people often do well in other subjects. Many can easily analyse texts at a high level in Danish classes and at the same time have problems adding up seven and nine, says Bent Lindhardt, who is a lecturer in mathematics in the teacher training department of University College Absalon in Roskilde.

Just can't get their act together

A person is not necessarily innumerate because they have difficulty with mathematics. Mathematical problems can also be due, for example, to challenges with the working memory, or general learning difficulties. Innumerate people often do well in other subjects.

‘Many can easily analyse poems or other texts at a high level in Danish classes, and at the same time have problems adding up seven and nine. Innumerate adults often say they are regarded as stupid and lazy, and asked why they just can’t get their act together if they’re good enough in other subjects,’ explains Bent Lindhardt.

The main indication of innumeracy is if you are not able to connect a symbol with a number – for example, you don’t connect the symbol 7 with the number seven. At the same time, innumerate people often use their fingers to count, even small numbers. Another typical sign is that it is difficult to estimate sizes and quantities, for example, if two dice are rolled and they have to quickly state the number of dots on the dice. However, these are only some of the many indications that a person may be innumerate.

How innumeracy can be compensated

So how can you help innumerate pupils? One way is to use language instead of symbols.

‘You can work on how to reason in mathematics. Innumerate people can often talk their way through a mathematical problem. They just can't calculate it. It may be a good idea, therefore, to let innumerate pupils use technology – pocket calculators to start with – they can define the problems and then let technology take care of the rest,’ says Bent Lindhardt.

It could also be a good idea to let innumerate people work together with a partner. They can then talk about the tasks and problems, and the partner can be responsible for the calculations.

Bent Lindhardt divides the knowledge you need to master mathematics into three parts:

– Ready knowledge: For example, tables showing that nine times seven is 63.

– Skills knowledge: The knowledge you need to be able to perform mathematical calculations.

– Understanding: Personal understanding of mathematical concepts, so that they can be recognised and used in different contexts.

According to Bent Lindhardt, it’s a good idea to focus on ready knowledge and understanding.

‘The skills can be replaced by compensatory aids. But you need to have ready knowledge to be able to make estimates in everyday life, or if you have to calculate something on a construction site,’ he says, and adds that understanding is necessary to know which relevant information the compensatory aids should be fed with.

‘Many innumerate people can do this well enough if it’s done purely linguistically,’ explains Bent Lindhardt.

Help for the innumerate in Nyborg

Denmark does not have a common national definition of innumeracy. For the same reason, there is also no nationally recognised test. Public recognition has been a long time coming, but the Ministry of Children and Education is working on it.

Although there is not yet a common definition of innumeracy in Denmark, help is still available in some places. At HF ​​& VUC FYN in Nyborg, for example, which for almost ten years has focused on supporting the innumerate.

In addition to interviews with prospective students, the school uses the Adler test to assess whether students are innumerate.

‘The test is not ideal, but it’s the best we have right now,’ says Bibbi Søgaard Visby, who teaches innumerate people in Nyborg.

The school currently has several FVU (Preparatory Adult Education) teams, which are for adults who want to be better at writing, reading or arithmetic. The teams have up to 12 students. There cannot be more, because the teaching is organised according to the individual person's challenges.

‘We acknowledge and identify their problems, and then we do something about it. It boosts their self-confidence that they get to talk about their difficulties and meet others with similar problems. It helps them get over the anxiety of numbers they have built up,’ says Bibbi Søgaard Visby.

HF & VUC FYN in Nyborg has an FVU team in the evening, where the students range from the very young to around 60 years old. Here, the focus is on so-called everyday mathematics, which makes it easier to calculate a kilo price in the supermarket or read a recipe – and perhaps recalculate it so that it feeds 16 people instead of four.

‘The teaching is very individual, because there’s no reason to teach a student fractions if he is already good at them,’ says Bibbi Søgaard Visby.

It is of great importance for the self-confidence when innumerate people are able to express their difficulties, says Bibbi Søgaard Visby, who teaches the innumerate at HF ​​& VUC FYN in Nyborg.

Special support at HF

Another option is to take a special HF training course aimed at the innumerate. Here, the ordinary mathematics teaching has been replaced in the first year by FVU teaching, which equips the students academically to participate and ultimately pass mathematics for the matriculation exam. Another option is to get special educational support (SPS) for up to 30 hours over six months. Bibbi Søgaard Visby currently supports six students. It is not help with homework, but support for those challenged with numbers, to prevent dropouts.

‘If, for example, a student has had problems during a lesson when the class was working on a chart, we can take it up and look at it together,’ says Bibbi Søgaard Visby.

With some of the six students, she prepares topics for them to review in class the following week.

‘This gives them more peace of mind. They know what's coming and don't get overwhelmed in the same way when they’re given a task with numbers in it,’ she says, adding that if they want to practise reading a chart, they might as well start with, for example, the periodic table, which they have to work with anyway.

Grades improve

It is now almost ten years since Bibbi Søgaard Visby and her colleagues started small with targeted support for the innumerate. Since then, the teachers have got better at it. The results have also improved.

‘We have succeeded in keeping more people in education. The fact that they don't drop out alone is a success,’ says Bibbi Søgaard Visby.

At the same time, the innumerate HF pupils' grades have improved. They don't necessarily pass maths, but in general the grades have improved – also in subjects like biology that contain numbers.

‘It must be because they feel confident. At the same time, the teachers know their challenges. They know what it's about,’ says Bibbi Søgaard Visby.