Jessica Maisey

Thesis Title: Development and standardization of a dyscalculia screening tool for secondary school.

Dyscalculia is a specific learning disorder in mathematics, affecting individual’s basic numerical skills, memorisation of arithmetic facts, fluent calculation, and accurate math reasoning. These difficulties have detrimental effects on a child’s educational achievement but also further life prospects, including employment, education, and mental health. Despite dyscalculia affecting 3-6% of children, and thus having a similar prevalence to dyslexia, students with dyslexia are about a hundred times more likely to be officially diagnosed (and to receive educational support) in the UK than students with dyscalculia. As a result, by the end of secondary school, the gap between the highest and lowest achieving students in mathematics in England equals around eight years of schooling, which is more than in most other countries. Therefore, the aim of this project is to advance the diagnosis of dyscalculia by developing and standardising a screening tool appropriate for secondary school students, to allow children with mathematical difficulties to receive the targeted educational support they need and deserve.

In addition, I will be collaborating closely with The Dyscalculia Network, an organisation specialising in the educational intervention for children with dyscalculia. Involvement of the organisation will focus on contributing to the development of assessment materials for dyscalculia, organising professional development events, engaging with parents and pupils - offering support and potentially recruiting participants for the project. Placement periods will provide first-hand experience of the difficulties faced by children with dyscalculia, which will assist in the creation and standardisation of the screening tool.

Biography

I obtained my BSc Psychology undergraduate degree with a diploma in international studies from Loughborough University in 2022. I have since had my dissertation paper published, which investigated the effects of a game-based fraction estimation task on math anxiety, and was presented at the 2022 Games and Learning Alliance (GALA) conference. I spent a year working for the NHS as an Occupational Therapy Assistant in mental health rehabilitation services, before returning to Loughborough to continue my studies in maths education.

Publications

Effects of a Game-Based Fraction Estimation Task on Math Anxiety: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22124-8_14

Education

Loughborough Univerisity

2023 Cohort 1+3

j.maisey-18@student.lboro.ac.uk

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-maisey

Supervisory Team

Dr Kinga Morsanyi

Prof Korbinian Moeller

Catherine Eadle

Robert Jennings

Collaborator

Dyscaclulia Network