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What is numeracy?
If you have good numeracy skills you will be able to take part more easily in everyday life, and get on in the workplace and in your school or college. If you have good numeracy skills you can:
- Decide what needs to be measured or calculated;
- Watch, and write down information in the right way;
- Make estimates and check calculations;
- Use maths in everyday situations. For example, you can plan a journey and work out how long it will take, what time you need to leave, what time you expect to arrive, and how much it will cost you.
What is involved in numeracy?
Understanding mathematical information:-
- You know how the number system works, and you understand what we mean by whole numbers, decimals, fractions and percentages;
- You know how to use money; you know how to tell the time and understand things like temperature, distance, area and volume;
- You can use maths language like ‘share’, ‘minus’ and ‘subtract’.
- You should be able to calculate and use numbers:
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- Adding up and taking away; multiplying and dividing;
- Algebra; equations and patterns.
- You should be able to use maths for day-to-day problems in your home, college or work life; for example, planning a journey, splitting a restaurant bill or cooking.
How do visual impairments affect numeracy?
Everyone who has a visual impairment is unique. Remember that the difficulties you have may not be the same as someone else, and the strategies that they use may not suit you as well.
If you have been blind since birth you probably have little understanding of visual and spatial concepts. This means that you need different methods and far more time to learn these concepts. You will also need more support to understand three dimensional objects.
If you are partially sighted, although you have developed these concepts, you may need different technologies to help you with maths.
Self help
You should:
- Work hard to master the various technologies that can help you with your studies;
- Agree adjustments with your tutor that will help you to join in to the best of your ability. For example, it will help if you can work with solid examples of geometrical shapes before working with diagrams of these shapes.
Click on
‘disclosure’ for more information about how and when you should tell someone about your disability.
Click on
‘personal organisation’ for more information about how to manage your time and resources.
What can my tutors do to help me?
Your tutors should:
Make sure that you have access to a wide variety of shapes and objects. Plastic or wooden shapes are better than card as they retain their shape better;- Use different textures for different shapes;
- It is easier to teach patterns using a magnetic board;
- Make sure that any diagrams (for example, a map of the local area) are clear and simple. The maps should contain only the relevant information. These also need to be accompanied by a verbal description and presented in a tactile form;
- Present tables and lists in well-spaced formats and in tactile form;
- For those who are partially sighted, bar charts using strongly contrasting colours can be effective;
- Use tactile rulers and talking scales for measuring tasks;
- Partially sighted learners may not be used to weighing and measuring and may need a lot of practice in measuring objects;
Provide additional help in choosing and using a calculator;- Provide enlarged timetables when teaching activities that involve planning journeys for those who are partially sighted;
- Teaching concepts such as 'clockwise' and 'anti-clockwise' can be reinforced through the movement of the hands of a clock, wheels or cogs;
- When doing exercises which involve collecting and collating information, make sure that a partially sighted learner works in partnership with a sighted learner, using a tape recorder to record information.
- Select from the following resources to helping blind and partially sighted learners:
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- Simple tactile maps;
- Tactile graph grid boards, sheets and modelling materials;
- Braille or large display dice;
- Calculators - either large print or talking;
- Braille 'Silva' marked compass;
- Enlarged/transcribed information materials, e.g. calendar, timetables, football league tables, holiday brochures, etc;
- Tape recorder;
- Close circuit television;
- Computer databases using appropriate access technology;
- A variety of tactile materials, e.g. elastic bands, art straws, sandpaper, large-size drawing pins, tactile tape measures, talking scales, cubes, triangles, prisms, lego.
If you aren’t getting the help recommended here, print off a copy of these pages and use them as a starting point to have a chat with your tutor about what can be done to make sure you are able to get the most from their teaching.
Click on
‘confidentiality’ for information about how your tutor should treat your personal information.
Your tutors should not:
- Produce text that is smaller than 12 point.
- Underline large chunks of text as this affects its readability.
- Produce text written all in capitals. This is difficult to read and it may be distracting.
- Use italics; they should make the text bold instead.
Useful links
- BBC: Factsheets, worksheets, quizzes and games to help improve your skills
- EmpTech: information about assistive technologies. The database includes product descriptions, links to manufacturers, suppliers with addresses as well as other related resources including advice and training guides where available
- Skills for Access: information about assistive technologies
- Excellence Gateway - Access for All - Measures, Shape and Space
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