Chapter 10: Generic Influences on Learning, Dyscalculia, and Creativity: Building on Strengths—Circumventing Deficits

Mathematics instruction for students with special educational needs is part of an ongoing role for regular classroom teachers who have students with special learning needs such as dyscalculia, and for resource teachers who previously have been prepared to emphasize reading and language skills. In order to teach mathematics to children with special educational problems, it helps to know what generic factors influence learning in general.

Generic factors are those conditions that may either enhance or inhibit learning. They are general influences that affect how humans learn, and therefore they must be considered in order to differentiate instruction to accommodate learning needs.