An Investigative Study on the Learning Difficulties in Mathematics Encountered by Primary 4 Children: In Search of a Cognitive Equation for Mathematics Learning

Mathematics learning is like acquiring a new language and it can be difficult for some children. It has a semiotic system different from that of the linguistic system that we called language. Mathematics has its own set of vocabulary and symbols that convey meanings best understood within its own context. In learning to read, the key component underlying early reading development is phonological awareness. In the same way, in learning to count and compute, the concept of number sense plays a similar role – like that of phonemic sense in reading – in mathematics learning (Gersten & Chard, 2001; Wendling & Mather, 2009). As with phonological awareness, the early conceptual knowledge of numbers usually develops during the preschool years and most children have an initial understanding in place by the ages of 4 to 5 years (Griffin & Case, 1997). It has been found that children with reading problems tend to display problems in comprehension and discerning information essential for the identification and execution of accurate solution strategies in mathematical problem solving (Bryant, Kim, Hartman, & Bryant, 2006).