Medical Education Online, Vol 14 (2009)

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Dyscalculia, Dyslexia, and Medical Students’ Needs for Learning and Using Statistics

Margaret MacDougall

Abstract


Much has been written on the learning needs of dyslexic and dyscalculic students in primary and early secondary education. However, it is not clear that the necessary disability sup­port staff and specialist literature are available to ensure that these needs are being adequately met within the context of learning statistics and general quantitative skills in the self-directed learning environments encountered in higher education. This commentary draws attention to dyslexia and dyscalculia as two potentially unrecognized conditions among undergraduate medical students and in turn, highlights key developments from recent literature in the diagnosis of these conditions. With a view to assisting medical educators meet the needs of dyscalculic learners and the more var­ied needs of dyslexic learners, a comprehensive list of suggestions is provided as to how learning resources can be designed from the outset to be more inclusive. A hitherto neglected area for future research is also identified through a call for a thorough investigation of the meaning of statistical literacy within the context of the undergraduate medical curriculum. Keywords - dyscalculia, dyslexia, inclusive learning resources, recognized learning attributes, sta­tistical literacy, undergraduate medical curriculum

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Medical Education Online ISSN 1087-2981 

This journal is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License. Responsible editors: David J Solomon and Ann Frye.