The Brain and Learning Math
Connections between learning math and brain development in younger learners
Start
Learning Math and the brain
-Boaler writes "when students learn math, you are changing their brains!" (Boaler, p. 1). -When you learn math, 1 of 3 things in the brain happens 1. new brain pathway 2. strengthen an exisiting pathway 3. make a connection between pathways
What does this mean for young learners?
-Postive interactions drive healthy brain growth (First Things First, 2026).-For younger students, developing a postive realtionship with math is critical in having a postive growth mindset when it comes to math (First Things First, 2026) -Creating a postive view of math is pivotal becuase the brain is a major developmental time for young learners
90% of brain growth happens before kindergarten (First Things First, 2026)
What does this mean for us as educators?
"Learning to count, identify numbers, and compare and manipulate quantities are key early numeracy skills. These are powerful predictors of school-age mathematical learning and performance" (Raghubar, K.P. & Barnes, M.A., 2017)."Understanding the development of early numeracy skills and their neuocognitive predictors offer important insights into early assessment and intervention for children at risk for or with mathematical learning difficulties" (Raghubar, K.P. & Barnes, M.A., 2017). We need to pay attention to how we are teaching math and how our students are learning, even at such a young age. When we realize that children's brains are still developing and how they see and perceive math can be effected at even the pre-k level, it makes our jobs as early childhoood educators that much more important.
Video Break
"Quadrupling in size before a child finishes preschool. By Age 6, the brain is 90% of its adult size"
-CNN, 2014.
how Early Childhood plays a role
"The single most important period of brain development occurs before the age of 5" (Early Learning Indiana, 2018).
"Brain development is literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" (Early Learning Indiana, 2018).
High quality early childhood eductional opporunties are critical
What we can do
Encourage a growth mindset when it comes to math (Boaler, p. 6) Provide open ended tasks and offer a choice of tasks (Boaler, p. 119-120)
Give students a year of engaging math (Boaler, p. 4) Teach students math that makes sense to them at this age level (see the next slide)
Math tasks for Pre-K Brains
"Learning maths at these ages should be centered on activities that are meaningful to the chidl and are associated with other content areas" (Flores, P., Fernandez-Ozcorta, A., del Pozo-Cruz, J., 2024)
Links, Resrouces and Activity ideas
Hand on learning activities
Math Ideas
Number Boxes
Engaging activities
some things to think about
- "When the brain responds to stimulation, it activites synaptic networks" (Thompson, R.A., 2024). This ties back to Boaler's points about changing the brain and pathways in the brain being changed or altered by learning math. Reserach shows us that learning new things, including math, really does change the brain.
"- "By age five, the brain has reached 88% of its adult weight" (Thompson, R.A., 2024)- "Teachers are the most important resource for students" (Boaler, p. 59). We as teachers need to create an encouraging and safe space for students to develop a postive relationship with math and foster postive brain development
Math in Pre-K
"We forgot why the blocks were designed that way"
"Play and mathematics should be combined"
Use materials such as links, counting cubes, memory cards and sorting
In my classroom, math is taught as an expolority center, allowing children to explore and learn math concepts through play
Some great Resources
Teach Pre-K Students about their brains
'Preschool Activities that Support Brain Development
thank you!
I hope you enjoyed this presentaiton and got some good information out of it.
Works cited
Please use this link to access my works cited page.
Did you know that...
In Genially, you will find more than 1,000 templates ready for you to introduce your content and customize them, which will help you tell your stories.
65%
Do you need more reasons to create dynamic content? Well: 90% of the information we absorb comes through sight, and we also retain 42% more information when the content moves.Write a great text by clicking on Text in the left sidebar. Note: the fonts, size, and color should fit the topic you are addressing.
Write a great headline
With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to leave your audience in awe. You can also highlight a specific phrase or fact that will be etched in your audience's memory and even embed external content that surprises: videos, photos, audios... Whatever you want!
Did you know that...
Do we retain 42% more information when content is animated? It may be the most effective resource for capturing your audience's attention.
Did you know that...
In Genially, you will find more than 1,000 ready-to-use templates to showcase your content and 100% customizable, which will help you tellyour stories?
Did you know that...We retain 42% more information when the content is animated? It is perhaps the most effective resource for capturing your audience's attention.
Tip:
Interactivity is the key piece to capturing the interest and attention of your audience. A genially is interactive because your audience explores and engages with it.
Tip:
Interactivity is the key piece to capturing the interest and attention of your audience. A genially is interactive because your audience explores and interacts with it.
Did you know that...
Do we retain 42% more information when the content is animated? It may be the most effective resource to capture your audience's attention.
With this feature...
You can add additional content that excites your audience's brain: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!
With this feature...
You can add additional content that excites your audience's brain: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!
Do you need more reasons to create dynamic content? Well: 90% of the information we absorb comes through sight, and we retain 42% more information when the content is moving.Write a great text by clicking on Text in the left sidebar. Note: fonts, size, and color should be appropriate for the topic you are addressing.
Write a great headline
With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to leave your audience in awe. You can also highlight a specific phrase or fact that will be etched in your audience's memory and even embed external content that surprises: videos, photos, audios... Whatever you want!
Do you need more reasons to create dynamic content? Well: 90% of the information we assimilate comes through sight, and we retain 42% more information when the content is moving.Write a great text by clicking on Text in the left sidebar. Note: the fonts, size, and color must match the theme you are addressing.
Write a great headline
With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to leave your audience speechless. You can also highlight a specific phrase or fact that will be etched in your audience's memory and even embed external content that surprises: videos, photos, audios... Whatever you want!
The Brain and Learning Math
Leah Wanamaker
Created on May 26, 2026
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Transcript
The Brain and Learning Math
Connections between learning math and brain development in younger learners
Start
Learning Math and the brain
-Boaler writes "when students learn math, you are changing their brains!" (Boaler, p. 1). -When you learn math, 1 of 3 things in the brain happens 1. new brain pathway 2. strengthen an exisiting pathway 3. make a connection between pathways
What does this mean for young learners?
-Postive interactions drive healthy brain growth (First Things First, 2026).-For younger students, developing a postive realtionship with math is critical in having a postive growth mindset when it comes to math (First Things First, 2026) -Creating a postive view of math is pivotal becuase the brain is a major developmental time for young learners
90% of brain growth happens before kindergarten (First Things First, 2026)
What does this mean for us as educators?
"Learning to count, identify numbers, and compare and manipulate quantities are key early numeracy skills. These are powerful predictors of school-age mathematical learning and performance" (Raghubar, K.P. & Barnes, M.A., 2017)."Understanding the development of early numeracy skills and their neuocognitive predictors offer important insights into early assessment and intervention for children at risk for or with mathematical learning difficulties" (Raghubar, K.P. & Barnes, M.A., 2017). We need to pay attention to how we are teaching math and how our students are learning, even at such a young age. When we realize that children's brains are still developing and how they see and perceive math can be effected at even the pre-k level, it makes our jobs as early childhoood educators that much more important.
Video Break
"Quadrupling in size before a child finishes preschool. By Age 6, the brain is 90% of its adult size"
-CNN, 2014.
how Early Childhood plays a role
"The single most important period of brain development occurs before the age of 5" (Early Learning Indiana, 2018).
"Brain development is literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" (Early Learning Indiana, 2018).
High quality early childhood eductional opporunties are critical
What we can do
Encourage a growth mindset when it comes to math (Boaler, p. 6) Provide open ended tasks and offer a choice of tasks (Boaler, p. 119-120)
Give students a year of engaging math (Boaler, p. 4) Teach students math that makes sense to them at this age level (see the next slide)
Math tasks for Pre-K Brains
"Learning maths at these ages should be centered on activities that are meaningful to the chidl and are associated with other content areas" (Flores, P., Fernandez-Ozcorta, A., del Pozo-Cruz, J., 2024)
Links, Resrouces and Activity ideas
Hand on learning activities
Math Ideas
Number Boxes
Engaging activities
some things to think about
- "When the brain responds to stimulation, it activites synaptic networks" (Thompson, R.A., 2024). This ties back to Boaler's points about changing the brain and pathways in the brain being changed or altered by learning math. Reserach shows us that learning new things, including math, really does change the brain.
"- "By age five, the brain has reached 88% of its adult weight" (Thompson, R.A., 2024)- "Teachers are the most important resource for students" (Boaler, p. 59). We as teachers need to create an encouraging and safe space for students to develop a postive relationship with math and foster postive brain development
Math in Pre-K
"We forgot why the blocks were designed that way"
"Play and mathematics should be combined"
Use materials such as links, counting cubes, memory cards and sorting
In my classroom, math is taught as an expolority center, allowing children to explore and learn math concepts through play
Some great Resources
Teach Pre-K Students about their brains
'Preschool Activities that Support Brain Development
thank you!
I hope you enjoyed this presentaiton and got some good information out of it.
Works cited
Please use this link to access my works cited page.
Did you know that...
In Genially, you will find more than 1,000 templates ready for you to introduce your content and customize them, which will help you tell your stories.
65%
Do you need more reasons to create dynamic content? Well: 90% of the information we absorb comes through sight, and we also retain 42% more information when the content moves.Write a great text by clicking on Text in the left sidebar. Note: the fonts, size, and color should fit the topic you are addressing.
Write a great headline
With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to leave your audience in awe. You can also highlight a specific phrase or fact that will be etched in your audience's memory and even embed external content that surprises: videos, photos, audios... Whatever you want!
Did you know that...
Do we retain 42% more information when content is animated? It may be the most effective resource for capturing your audience's attention.
Did you know that...
In Genially, you will find more than 1,000 ready-to-use templates to showcase your content and 100% customizable, which will help you tellyour stories?
Did you know that...We retain 42% more information when the content is animated? It is perhaps the most effective resource for capturing your audience's attention.
Tip:
Interactivity is the key piece to capturing the interest and attention of your audience. A genially is interactive because your audience explores and engages with it.
Tip:
Interactivity is the key piece to capturing the interest and attention of your audience. A genially is interactive because your audience explores and interacts with it.
Did you know that...
Do we retain 42% more information when the content is animated? It may be the most effective resource to capture your audience's attention.
With this feature...
You can add additional content that excites your audience's brain: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!
With this feature...
You can add additional content that excites your audience's brain: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!
Do you need more reasons to create dynamic content? Well: 90% of the information we absorb comes through sight, and we retain 42% more information when the content is moving.Write a great text by clicking on Text in the left sidebar. Note: fonts, size, and color should be appropriate for the topic you are addressing.
Write a great headline
With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to leave your audience in awe. You can also highlight a specific phrase or fact that will be etched in your audience's memory and even embed external content that surprises: videos, photos, audios... Whatever you want!
Do you need more reasons to create dynamic content? Well: 90% of the information we assimilate comes through sight, and we retain 42% more information when the content is moving.Write a great text by clicking on Text in the left sidebar. Note: the fonts, size, and color must match the theme you are addressing.
Write a great headline
With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to leave your audience speechless. You can also highlight a specific phrase or fact that will be etched in your audience's memory and even embed external content that surprises: videos, photos, audios... Whatever you want!