Abstract
In the last decade or so cognitive neuroscience have made progress in understanding how the brain processes information as well as establishing that we are not born just with instincts, like the animals, but also with a sense of number, space and time though in primitive form. This has great implications to education. This paper concentrates only on the number sense and of course when we speak of numbers we mean mathematics. Experiments in neuroscience have shown that we are born with an Approximate Number System (ANS). It is likened to a “start-up” system like DOS in computers. This implies that the neuronal circuits which process visual and verbal information with respect to quantity and magnitude, are already formed. As the child grows up this approximate system becomes an Exact Number System (ENS). This transition from ANS to ENS is very crucial to the learning of mathematics because during that transition is when many misconceptions are formed. Since the ANS acuity differs from child to child this necessitates a diagnostic approach rather than a teaching approach to the teaching of mathematics in the foundation phase. The method used is an extensive literature review which forms the foundation of a conceptual model. This paper makes a number of recommendations for foundation phase teachers since that part of mathematics forms the foundation of the mathematics to be learned. Research has shown that ANS acuity can predict future success in mathematics.
Presenters
Paul GiannakopoulosAssociate Researcher, Mathematics Education, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Early Childhood Development, Approximate Number System, Mathematics, Exact Number System, Object Tracking System, Analog Number System
