Cognitive neuroscience meets mathematics education

• Published in: Educational research review Vol. 5; no. 1; pp. 97 - 105
• Main Authors: De Smedt, Bert, Ansari, Daniel, Grabner, Roland H., Hannula, Minna M., Schneider, Michael, Verschaffel, Lieven
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Belgium; Brain; Conferences (Gatherings); Correlation; Educational Research; Educational Researchers; Foreign Countries; Interdisciplinary Approach; Learning Processes; Mathematics Education; Mathematics Instruction; Neurology; Numeracy; Scientific Research; Workshops; Belgium
• ISSN: 1747-938X; 1878-0385
• DOI: 10.1016/j.edurev.2009.11.001

While there has been much theoretical debate concerning the relationship between neuroscience and education, researchers have started to collaborate across both disciplines, giving rise to the interdisciplinary research field of neuroscience and education. The present contribution tries to reflect on the challenges of this new field of empirical enquiry. Recently, an EARLI Advanced Study Colloquium (ASC) entitled Cognitive Neuroscience Meets Mathematics Education was held from 25-29 March 2009 in Brugge (Belgium), in which teams of cognitive neuroscientists and educational researchers presented their collaborative work. This workshop thus focussed on empirical research at the cross-roads of educational research and cognitive neuroscience within the domains of numeracy and mathematics. Taking the ASC as the background of our discussion, we present research on mathematics learning from neuroscientific as well as behavioural and educational perspectives to highlight the issues that are currently being faced in the emerging field of neuroscience and education. We contend that this field should be conceived as a two-way street with multiple bi-directional and reciprocal interactions between educational research and cognitive neuroscience. On the one hand, cognitive neuroscience might influence research in mathematics education by (a) contributing to our understanding of atypical numerical and mathematical development, (b) paving the way for setting up behavioural experiments and (c) generating findings about learning and instruction that cannot be uncovered by behavioural research alone. On the other hand, educational research affects cognitive neuroscience research by (a) helping to define the variables of interest and (b) investigating the effects of instruction on the neural correlates of learning. This interdisciplinary endeavour will allow for a better understanding of how people learn.