Math on the Brain: Seven Principles from Neuroscience for Early Childhood Educators

Educational neuroscience aims to merge neuroscience and education for better teaching and learning outcomes. Translating scientific findings into educator-friendly terms is crucial to empower teachers in applying these insights to teaching methods. Despite advancements in neuroeducation, a significant gap persists, and there is a lack of specific neuro-educational pedagogical knowledge, notably in early childhood math education. This exploratory review article outlines recent neuroscientific insights into numerical understanding in the human brain. It presents seven neuro-pedagogical principles essential for developing mathematical abilities in early childhood: (1) Mathematical abilities are distributed across various brain regions. (2) Innate mathematical abilities exist in young children. (3) Brain networks for perceiving quantities are vital for mathematical thinking and evolve with age and experience. (4) Distinguishing between small and large quantities (subitizing) can mediate between the innate ability to understand quantities and the later understanding of numbers and their meaning. (5) A mental number line maps numbers spatially. (6) Neurocognitive mechanisms perceive and manipulate numerical information through a triple code: quantity, numerals, and number words. (7) Finger gnosis, the ability to identify fingers without visual involvement, correlates with mathematical abilities. Each principle is discussed in terms of ongoing research, limitations of the current findings, and practical implications and examples suitable for early childhood educators.