Why maths seems to fall apart under pressure
Safety in Numbers: For Parents of Children with Maths DifficultiesShow Notes
Your child can do the method at home. They can explain it, work through it calmly, get the right answer. Then in class, or in a test, or the moment they're put on the spot, it disappears.
In this episode, Alice explains what's actually happening in those moments, why it isn't carelessness or a lack of effort and what you can do about it.
This episode covers: Why a method, a fact, or knowing which operation to use can all fall apart under pressure, even when a child clearly understands them What "demand" really means, and why classroom pressure is often much quieter than an exam or a time limit The central executive: the part of working memory that manages several things at once, and what happens when it reaches its limit Two real cases: a boy whose method came apart the moment anything was added to it, and a girl who lost a carried digit mid-calculation despite knowing the method perfectly well Why this is fragility, not failure, and why it can look like your child is going backwards when the conditions have changed, not their understanding Four practical strategies for parents: slowing down at home, separating understanding from performance, reducing what your child has to keep in their head at once, and responding to where things actually break down
Free companion guide Download the free companion guide for this episode, with practical ways to put these four ideas into action at home. https://learn.aedds.co.uk/cgsu
References Baddeley, A. (2000). The episodic buffer: a new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(11), 417–423. Caviola, S., Carey, E., Mammarella, I. C., & Szűcs, D. (2017). Stress, time pressure, strategy selection and math anxiety in mathematics: A review of the literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1488. Doz, E., Cuder, A., Pellizzoni, S., Granello, F., & Passolunghi, M. C. (2024). The interplay between ego-resiliency, math anxiety and working memory in math achievement. Psychological Research, 88(8), 2401–2415.
Next episode: What support should schools be providing? How to tell whether your child is getting what they need, and what to expect as standard.
Safety in Numbers is a podcast for parents of children with dyscalculia and maths difficulties.
Website: www.aedds.co.uk Facebook group: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551091072526
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