If you’ve watched your child struggle with numbers—reversing digits, mixing up operations, or shutting down at the mention of math homework—you’re not imagining it. These aren’t signs of a broken brain. They’re signals that specific mathematical thinking skills are still developing, and educators are increasingly equipped to help.
A new online professional development course from Sligo Education Centre aims to give teachers the tools to identify and address the most common mathematical misconceptions that hold students back.
Math Misconceptions: The Hidden Barrier
Sligo Education Centre’s upcoming CPD session, “craic_matamaitic — Uncovering Misconceptions in Maths,” scheduled for March 11, 2026, from 6:30-7:30 PM, will help educators recognize the specific thinking errors that create cascading math difficulties. The session is designed for teachers working with students who experience challenges building mathematical skills.
Research shows that what often appears as “not getting math” is frequently a collection of fixable misconceptions—gaps in foundational number sense that, once addressed, unlock mathematical understanding. Common examples include misunderstanding place value, confusing mathematical operations, or believing math ability is fixed rather than developable.
Math struggles often stem from fixable misconceptions, not permanent limitations. New teacher training aims to help educators identify and address these hidden barriers.
Why Teacher Training Matters
The cascade effect in mathematics learning means one unresolved misconception can create multiple downstream errors. A student who doesn’t fully grasp addition as combining quantities will struggle with subtraction, multiplication, and eventually algebra. When teachers learn to identify these root misconceptions, they can target the actual problem rather than managing symptoms.
This professional development reflects a growing movement in education: moving from accommodation to intervention, from managing differences to developing skills. The course connects to broader research on number sense and mathematical thinking, emphasizing that mathematical skills are learnable through targeted practice—just like reading or any other skill.
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Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Building Mathematical Thinking Skills
The good news for parents: when teachers understand misconceptions, they can restructure instruction to build skills rather than simply repeating failed approaches. Research on neuroplasticity confirms that mathematical thinking skills can be developed at any age, given appropriate input and support.
Parents can reinforce this at home by focusing on mathematical thinking processes rather than correct answers. Asking “How did you figure that out?” rather than “Is that right?” helps children build mathematical reasoning rather than seeking validation. Games involving numbers, cooking measurements, and real-world math applications all strengthen number sense naturally.
Key takeaways
- Teacher Training Initiative: Sligo Education Centre offers CPD course March 11, 2026 helping educators identify common mathematical misconceptions.
- Root Cause Focus: Math struggles often stem from fixable misconceptions rather than permanent limitations—addressing these unlocks learning.
- Growth Mindset Impact: Teaching students that math skills develop with practice improves persistence and outcomes.
What This Means for Families
As more educators receive training in identifying and addressing mathematical misconceptions, students benefit from instruction that actually works. Rather than being labeled “not a math person” or placed in permanent remediation, children receive targeted support for the specific skills they need to develop.
The shift from “can’t do math” to “is developing mathematical thinking skills” changes not just how teachers teach, but how children see themselves. When students understand that mathematical ability grows with practice, they persist through challenges rather than giving up. This mindset shift—backed by neuroscience—creates lasting change in mathematical performance.
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Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Every child can develop mathematical thinking skills. The question isn’t whether they can learn—it’s whether we’re giving them the right input to build those skills. Labels like “not a math person” create limitation narratives that become self-fulfilling prophecies. The system that labels rather than develops has failed too many children for too long.
If you’re ready to stop waiting for a system that wasn’t designed for your child, the Learning Success All Access Program offers a free trial that includes a personalized Action Plan—and you keep that plan even if you decide it’s not the right fit.
See what All Access gives your child
Take the dyscalculia test
Is your child struggling in school?
Get your free personalized learning roadmap
You describe what you see at home. We turn it into a plan you start this week.
- Answer 5 short questionnaires about what you already notice, 30–45 minutes at your own kitchen table
- Your child sits no test and gets no score: nothing to schedule, nothing for them to dread
- You do the answering, the AI does the writing, and a person reviews it before it reaches you
- Access all 40+ courses instantly: reading, math, focus, processing and more, with new ones added regularly
Why we use AI, plainly: it writes from a knowledge base our team maintains and audits. We work through it line by line and pull anything the evidence stops supporting. The roadmap you get on Tuesday reflects what we corrected on Monday, and a human still reads it before you do.
Your school district must evaluate your child free of charge if you ask in writing, whatever your income and whatever the outcome (US, 34 CFR 300.111 and 300.301(b)). That route takes time and answers a different question than you do. This one starts today, from what you already know.
Your answers stay yours. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not hand identifiable assessment data to outside AI companies to train their models.
A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too. That is the only route to those supports.
References
- Sligo Education Centre CPD Courses - Online Courses
