ETEC 512

Neurological Evidence for Math Learning Discussion Post

This weeks readings were fascinating to me because I teach both math and
psychology. Consequently, I am very interested in the link between the brain and
behaviour, and I am constantly looking for ways to help my grade eight students to
succeed at math.

After reading about the neuroscience of learning arithmetic, I believe even more
than before that drilling basic math facts in the early years is absolutely necessary. My
experience with teaching math has shown me that students have a much easier time in
high school if they can recall basic math answers (ex. 8 + 7 or 6 x 3) without having to
really think about them or work out the solution. Neuroscience certainly seems to support
this view. Zamarian, Ischebeck, and Delazer (2009) discuss how growing expertise or
age is related to a greater involvement of specific parietal areas and to a decrease of
reliance on general-purpose (frontal) areas. In other words, students use the frontal lobe
(which is important for problem solving and higher level thinking) when they are solving
a mathematical problem for which they do not immediately know the answer. They do
not need to process the information in the frontal lobe, however, if it is an equation that
they have practiced several times before. They are able simply to recall the information
quickly and with less processing, using the angular gyrus of the parietal lobe. Thus
practicing basic mathematical equations will definitely help students to recall the
information quicker in the future.

This weeks readings were from 2009, and I was so fascinated with the research
that I set out to find if there have been any updates to the science. What I came across in
my search was an article published in The Journal of Neuroscience in January, 2013, that
provides further support for the importance of math drills. I would post the link to it, but
the copyright says that it can not be posted without the express written consent of the
Journal for Neuroscience. If anyone is interested, a simple google search should take you
there. This article by Price, Mazzocco, and Ansari (2013), entitled Why mental
arithmetic counts: Brain activation during single digit arithmetic predicts high-school
math scores discusses how fMRI scans correlated brain responses to single digit
calculation with standard scores on the PSAT math subtest in high-school seniors.
Activity in brain regions known to be engaged during arithmetic fact retrieval correlated
with high PSAT math scores, while brain regions established to be involved in numeral
quantity processing were related to lower PSAT math scores. This data reveals that
memorizing mathematical facts seems to help students with higher-level math problems.
So, as teachers, if we want students to do well in higher-level mathematics, then we need
to get the basic mathematical facts burned into students memories. That way, they can
retrieve those facts when solving higher-level problems rather than working them out on
the fly.

There is, however, one thing to keep in mind. Students cant solve complex math
problems if they dont know problem-solving strategies. So you cant just replace
conceptual, problem-solving strategies with math drills. Indeed, there needs to be a
balance between drilling students effectively enough that they get simple arithmetic facts
into their memory, and teaching students how to think mathematically and use conceptual
problem-solving strategies.

References:

Price, G.R., Mazzocco, M., & Ansari, D. (2013). Why mental arithmetic counts: Brain
activation during single digit arithmetic predicts high school math scores. Journal of
Neuroscience, 33(1), 156-163.

Zamarian, L., Ischebeck, A., & Delazer, M. (2009). Neuroscience of learning arithmetic:
Evidence from brain imaging studies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 33, 909-
925.