Developing and appraising a practice-based instructional design for dyscalculia awareness in preservice teacher education

Mathematical learning difficulties such as developmental dyscalculia are often misattributed to low ability, leaving teachers underprepared to recognize risk indicators and justify evidence-informed instructional adaptations. In teacher education, dyscalculia content is frequently fragmented and largely definitional, offering limited guidance on how teachers can translate diagnostic information and learners’ experiences into pedagogical action. This article proposes a practice-based instructional design for preservice teacher education that frames dyscalculia awareness as a staged learning trajectory from conceptual knowledge to instructional decision-making. The design consists of a five-session sequence: (1) conceptual foundations and common misconceptions, (2) developmental risk indicators, (3) role-based analysis of academic and everyday experiences, (4) pedagogical interpretation of diagnostic information with expert perspectives, and (5) the design of multimodal and technology-supported instructional adaptations. As design outputs, the study provides reusable lesson artefacts including scenario and case sets, expert prompts, adaptation examples, and assessment rubrics. A conjecture map is also presented to clarify the mechanisms linking design features with expected outcomes such as structured dyscalculia awareness, professional preparedness, and the ability to justify instructional choices. The design was developed through an educational design research approach, iteratively refined, and appraised through a focus group with five domain experts whose feedback informed systematic revisions. Not applicable.