Brain Science Offers New Look at Teaching Math

“The mathematical sciences particularly exhibit order, symmetry, and limitation; and these are the greatest forms of the beautiful.”   – Aristotle

 Aristotle appreciated math. So do my husband, father-in-law and sister-in-law. They made it their livelihoods. As for me…well, if push came to shove, I’d plead The Fifth.

However, I did read a well-written essay by Benedict Carey, titled “Studying Young Minds, and How to Teach Them.” It appeared as part of a series in The New York Times last month. Unfortunately it was published on Dec. 20 – just a few days before Christmas. I doubt it got the notice it deserved, but I found it fascinating and think teachers and parents will find it and the rest of the series interesting too.

 Carey talks about how cognitive neuroscience research is challenging the way educators have traditionally taught math and other concepts to young children. While some of these findings may have trickled their way into the classroom, I think the information bears repeating. Numerous brain science studies and researchers are cited, as well as a few teachers who have incorporated these new ideas into their classrooms through fun math games, activities and reading. 

“Teaching is an ancient craft, and yet we really have had no idea how it affected the developing brain,” said Kurt Fischer, in The New York Times article. Fischer is the director of the Mind, Brain and Education program at Harvard. “Well, that is beginning to change, and for the first time we are seeing the fields of brain science and education work together.” 

For those of you on the front lines in the classroom, please weigh in! Give the article and its readers’ comments a look and then offer your feedback here. Does this article resonate with you? Are you applying any of these principles in your math curriculum? Or are your hackles up? I’d like to hear what you have to say.

 If you are looking for some basic math concept picture books, Big Universe offers about two dozen online options from its publishing partners. Members also have created many volumes about math and counting, and you and your students can do the same. 

Right Book – For Who?

Choosing a book to read can be a pleasant experience. First there’s the cover of the book that draws the eye, then there may be illustrations, which draw the reader into the book. Print size, print spacing, is it a chapter book, is it the right topic, can the reader decipher the words and meaning of at least the first paragraph and does it keep their interest? All of this takes place in the matter of less than a minute for the experienced reader. But, what about the young novice reader and the reader who has difficulty with reading in general?

For a child who finds reading difficult, choosing the right book can be very hard. Where to start? Big Universe has over 1,000 picture books and you can now search the publisher books by Fountas and Pinnell levels as well as Interest Levels. The Fountas and Pinnell levels are the actual reading level where the student is performing. There are fourth grade students who are reading at a second grade level. It’s now possible to find appropriate reading material for these children on Big Universe!

For a child reading below grade level there are many books available that he or she can read comfortably and still be working within a book that is grade level material. For a fourth or fifth grade student reading at a second grade level, one of these books is Outer Space, written by Kenneth Walsh and published by Teacher Created Materials. It is written at a Fountas and Pinnell Level L, about middle second grade, but the interest level is through the age of 13.

There are many, many books like this on Big Universe. The key is to find the book that fits the child, NOT the book that fits the grade level.

Children and Worry

Some topics are universal and worry is one of them. There is a beautiful picture book available online at Big Universe that covers the topic of worry beautifully. When I was a child I worried about everything! When I shared my difficulty with worries with my fourth grade students I got an overwhelming response from the children telling me that they had the same feelings and they sure were glad they weren’t alone. We spent quite a while discussing some of the worries they had.

The worries children have to deal with are numerous. For some it’s whether they’ll get the tennis shoes they want or the part in the play. Others worry about a grandparent who is sick or a brother or sister who is away at college. For some there’s the worry of losing a home to foreclosure, having the electricity turned off, or what kind of mood dad’s going to be in when they get home. Others worry that someone’s going to find out they don’t have a home, that when they leave school everyday, they go to the homeless shelter; That those clothes they wear everyday once belonged to someone else. That woman that comes to see them during the day at school, she’s a social worker, she might be taking her and her brother away from their parents.

Children worry about so many things. Is There A Worry Worrying You? written by Frieda Wolff and Harriet May Savitz, beautifully illustrated by Marie Le Torneau and published by Tanglewood Press, addresses the problems of a child’s worries in a very child friendly way. The book is written at a first grade reading level but the interest level is much wider. As a read aloud the book’s reach stretches all the way from preschool through the elementary school years and beyond. Even as an adult I enjoyed the bitter sweet memories it helped me recall from my childhood.

Language is Vital

Children have to see, hear and write words in order to learn. Without language they lose the ability to learn and continue to learn. It’s sad to see children who are unable to answer questions because they don’t have the language to respond. “What is that?” we as teachers ask each other. The children simply don’t have the language to respond. Some children respond but they do so with limited words. What’s missing? How are we changing as a society and what should we do to help our children reach their potential?

Talking is the first way to help a child reach their potential. The more language a child hears the more they’ll eventually be able to read. Once a child has heard a word it’s far more likely they’ll be able to read it once they come upon it in writing. Read to children. Young children should be read to everyday. If books aren’t always available choose newspapers, websites, street signs, cereal boxes, anything. Language!

Have language readily available. Books, magazines, newspapers, paper, pencils, crayons, computers… Television isn’t bad. There, I said it. My own children, now very happy, good teenagers, learned so much from Barney! But, they also heard the spoken word, used the computer, played outside, drew pictures, talked to each other, and experienced life in many different forms. Television wasn’t their life.

Parents are working. In most cases both parents are working and sometimes one or both parents are working two jobs. Sometimes there is a second language involved. Sometimes a parent can’t read or write. Economic difficulties play a large part in language deficits. When both parents work hard just to pay the bills there’s nothing left of their energies or their funds to explore the world with their children.

Back ground knowledge of many children today is extremely limited. I stop frequently during my reading to clarify vocabulary that I never would have clarified ten years ago. Garage, buffalo, slugger, shipyard, dock, camel… the list goes on. Children don’t need to have been everywhere to be able to recognize vocabulary. It helps, but it’s not realistic in our society.

The Internet, Smartboard, picture books, television, videos, virtual field trips, all of these can help bring the world to our children. It’s the way we, as teachers, parents, and concerned adults in the twenty-first century are going to have to bring the world to our children if we want them to reach their potential.  Language is the most vital component of learning. Our kids need to see it, hear it, even play with it. Language!

Our Earth used with Standards of Learning

Books that are readable and have a reason to be read are usually hard to find for special education students. I feel like I’ve found a gold mine at Big Universe. The book Our Earth by Kenneth Walsh is written at the reading level of 2.6 but looks and can be read by children in the 4th and 5th grade who have reading difficulties.

Our Earth is a chapter book, with an index and glossary. The topic meets the criteria in many science curriculums and can be used easily as it is interesting to many 9, 10 and 11 year olds! What more can you ask for in a book? The fact that it’s online only makes it more enticing.

As a special education teacher in Fairfax County Virginia my first thought is always whether I’ll be able to gather any VGLA (Virginia Grade Level Assessment) material by reading a particular text. The VGLA is a portfolio assessment designed to collect material that a student has produced to show that they are at grade level on each and every Standard of Learning (SOL) strand. The assessment is for those students who can’t take the multiple choice test, successfully, at the end of the year, but are able to produce grade level work. Let me tell you I’m starting to realize what an oxymoron that statement is!

With a book like Our Earth and a media like the computer and http://www.biguniverse.com the VGLA becomes more feasible. I read the book and designed a couple of activities that I could use right away for the VGLA for a non-fiction book. I’m going to add more to finish up the standard as I have time.

I think the big idea here is that with the right book, with the right website like Big Universe, teachers can find what we need more easily than we thought. Our job then becomes making the most of it and making it work with what we need.

The following link will take you to a couple of pages of worksheets to use with Our Earth as a VGLA assessment or just a general assessment of your student’s comprehension.       45a45b56a1 (worksheets click here)