Interesting explanations of mathematical aptitude from the perspective of scientists

Why are some young children so passionate about numbers but growing up afraid of math? If your parents are good at math, are you more likely to be good at math? How do your beliefs about yourself and math affect this course score? Here is the answer from some studies of American scientists.

Author's article Ronald H. Scott is published on ThinkFun, a toy website that helps students learn math more fun and exciting.

(Photo: Towards Data Science)

Mathematics is a broad term for many science subjects related to numbers, numbers, shapes, spaces and interrelationships between these branches. Math is becoming more important and contributing to shaping the way we understand the world around us. Math is used to calculate time, distance, making strategic decisions at work. An interesting thing is, you are not born with fear of math, and your mathematical ability is both innate and able to improve.

Here are some studies confirming this view. Scientists hope that their conclusions will help future generations no longer fear math.

Good math from birth

The first is the work of a group of Emory University psychologists (a well-known private school in the southeastern United States) published in the August 2016 Psychological Science magazine. According to this study, children 6 months old have already had mathematical ability, and their ability to think in space helps them predict their mathematical abilities at the age of 4 years.

In a specific experiment, 63 children aged 6 to 13 months were tested for spatial-visual skills, also known as mind-switching ability and object rotation in "mind space". , a feature of spatial intelligence. The children are shown two videos: some are viewed with a series of patterns that change direction, some view a twice-rotated image of the mirror as symmetrical and asymmetrical images.

Using eye tracking technology (eye-tracking) to record videos of children watching and watching time, researchers found that all of them looked at videos that had symmetrical images over the mirror longer, but the time The look of each child is different.

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At the age of four, they were tested again. The results showed that the children showed a better ability to solve math problems when they were 4 years old, who spent a lot of time watching video images through mirrors when they were young. It is "the earliest documented evidence for the relationship between mathematical ability and spatial thinking", and "spatial thinking formed early in life at the age of 6 months will herald the continuity of capacity. This and the development of math skills ", according to a research team member, Dr. Stella Lourenco psychologist, assistant professor of Emury University Department of Psychology.

Good math is due to genetics

Another study by the University of Pittsburgh (a prestigious public school in Pennsylvania, USA) shows that math ability can be inherited by generation. Good math parents will also produce children who are good at math.

The study used supplementary tests from a national standard math test to assess the math ability of parents and children. The children are tested three lessons: calculating, remembering basic-figure facts, solving word problems through image support tools. And parents are surveyed about the importance of fostering math skills in children and doing a math lesson on math.

According to the researchers, it is possible to predict their test results based on the results of the parent test in a reliable way. It is the first evidence that innate ability involves numbers that can be passed from parents to children, a "trans-generational transference".

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"The intuition of numbers passed from parent to child, whether known or not. That means, basically, the parents' math ability tends to be" copied "for children. ", ThinkFun quoted Melissa E. Libertus, head of research, assistant professor of University of Pittsburgh Psychology. This study was published in September 2016 in Developmental Science.

Good math is a belief

Of course, talent is not everything. There is a simple reason for you to master math, that is: you believe you are good at math. According to Washington University scientists in a September 2011 publication, the kids considered themselves a math fan who scored higher on standard math tests.

In the experiment, at the beginning of the school year, some elementary students were measured on mathematical-gender beliefs (such as maths for boys only), math and self-beliefs (wallet For example, I am good at math, I have poor math, etc.). This measurement is done through a number of specific tasks. The test is used to assess the confidence in your subconscious as the Child Implicit Association Test is used to measure your own views, beliefs, and attitudes . By the end of the year, you participate a standard math test.

As a result, students with stronger beliefs about themselves and math achieve higher scores in both the male and female groups. "There are potential psychological factors that can weaken your math awareness and math ability, such as your belief in math," said Dario, lead researcher and psychologist. Cvencek is from the University of Washington College of Learning and Brain Science. This result will help researchers find ways to change perspectives about themselves that can harm a child's ability to math.

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Thus, children who are passionate about numbers when they are young but grow up fear that math is caused by some negative memories and beliefs in childhood. How to help children nurture positive beliefs about themselves and math? In the last section, author Ronald H. Scott will present a few preliminary remarks about the teaching of mathematics in the US and the measures parents can take to develop a mathematical love for children at home.

How do your kids love math?

In the United States, despite being the world's number one economic power, math education in this country is a controversial topic. The main reason is that American students participating in international math competency tests often do not achieve high scores. According to the latest PISA results in 2015-2016, the US ranked 35th, down 7 places compared to the ranking of 28th 2012. The PISA score of American students is 470 points, lower than the average scores of students in OECD countries. (Organization for economic cooperation and development).

PISA or the International Student Assessment Program is an OCED program that evaluates education systems around the world through tests of knowledge and skills of students aged 15 years. every 3 years.

According to ThinkFun, the United States is one of the few countries that sees memory (memorization) as a key tool for learning mathematics, which means that American students will have more difficulty recognizing mathematical concepts in their lips. other schools outside the classroom. Meanwhile, learning math requires creativity and stamina to a much higher degree than memorizing simple multiplication tables. The important thing in transferring knowledge into real-life situations is to teach students to be confident rather than panic about complex issues and consider it from different perspectives.

Currently, the United States is changing the way of teaching children to learn mathematics. Master John Wihbey, Northeastern University assistant professor, said that it is necessary to direct math courses in high school corresponding to students' career interests. Going from algebra to integrals as the traditional method does not fit the needs of many students. For example, children interested in the job of programmers will learn a lot of discrete math words, and they like the data science department to learn math and statistical math models.

Education teacher Linda Griffin, assistant professor of Lewis & Clark's School of Education and Graduate School of Education and Counseling offers small measures that high school teachers can take to help students change their minds. math score:

1. Emphasize the value of the wrong answer
2. Ensure high expectations are equal to all students
3. Don't let any of you hide
4. Celebrate and strengthen success
5. Reduce stress in math class

While waiting for the nation-wide reformed math classes, author Ronald H. Scott said parents can help them strengthen their love of math at home. One of the best measures is to offer activities that need logical problem solving skills.

Mathematician Tara Holm, assistant professor of Cornell University (one of the leading schools in the US in technology) often with children playing checkers (checker), Clue (a game of judgmental reasoning on the chessboard Popular in the world), Rush Hour (a deductive game of ThinkFun).

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Perseverance is a key feature that helps children have forward thinking (development, growth mindset) instead of conservative (unchanged, fixed mindset) thinking about mathematics and other areas. Let your child participate in the tasks that need numbers and solve problems such as doubling or halving recipes, calculating savings, calculating the number of liters of gasoline that can be purchased with some money certain . These problems will help your child not to see math as a scary thing but an interesting challenge. Eliminating the fear of math in your child will help you create an environment where everything is possible for you.