More Trouble with Maths: A complete guide to identifying and diagnosing mathematical difficulties

Spot and solve pupils’ maths problems with More Trouble with Maths, the follow-up book to The Trouble with Maths.

What are they?

The books are written by the author, researcher and former teacher Steve Chinn. They are guides to identifying and diagnosing mathematical difficulties, including dyscalculia and mathematical anxiety, and offer practical advice for helping learners with numeracy difficulties.

Are they any good?

The issue I always have with academic research, no matter how credible its findings, is that the recommendations are very rarely accompanied by practical resources and ideas that will make an immediate difference in the classroom. I am delighted to say that these two books do exactly that.

In More Trouble with Maths, Chinn provides research evidence and tests to photocopy for identifying crucial mathematical difficulties that are prevalent in schools. Amid the coverage on conditions such as dyscalculia, there are also fascinating sections about learners’ struggles with estimation and the crucial impact on short-term memory.

All these research findings are complemented nicely by The Trouble with Maths, where the focus is very much on practical solutions and strategies. My favourite part is the final section on fractions – a notoriously problematic topic for many pupils. The author pulls apart common approaches to teaching fractions, explaining clearly the misconceptions and difficulties to which they may lead. He then offers an alternative approach, including addressing multiplying fractions through paper folding.

I found these two books fascinating reading, but more importantly I know that they will have a long-term, positive effect on my teaching and my understanding of the difficulties many learners face with mathematics.

Craig Barton is an advanced skills teacher at Thornleigh Salesian College, Bolton. He is the creator of www.mrbartonmaths.com and TES subject adviser for secondary maths. He can be found on Twitter at @TESMaths.

‘This book should be on the shelves of all professionals in the field of maths education and educational assessment … it will spearhead a much needed increase in proficiency in the assessment of numeracy skills.’ – Taken from the Foreword by Professor Maggie Snowling, University of York.

‘Steve Chinn’s book builds on his previous informative books on Maths difficulties. The book’s main focus is providing assessment and diagnostic routines for maths or ‘dyscalculic’ difficulties. These are particularly well thought out as they have both standardised tests- there are hardly any reliable or detailed enough ones available elsewhere- as well as qualitative frameworks for evaluating mathematical problems, with plenty of real life examples. The assessment procedures are clearly linked to suggestions for intervention. If I didn’t know already, the experience of Steve Chinn as a teacher, as well as an expert in dyscalulia and similar difficulties, shines through. There are invaluable photocopiable materials. I will be using this in my Educational Psychology assessment practice and it is a must resource for anyone who is serious about evaluating mathematical difficulties in children or adults.’ – Dr Michael Thomson, Chartered Educational Psychologist, East Court Assessment Centre

Steve Chinn has previously been founder and principal for 19 years of an award-winning specialist school for dyslexics. He was also head of three other specialist schools and a mainstream teacher for 14 years, and is now an independent international lecturer, writer and researcher. He has also published with Routledge The Trouble with Maths, second edition (2012).