Teaching Mathematics Effectively to Primary Students in Developing Countries : Insights from Neuroscience and Psychology of Mathematics

This paper uses research from neuroscience and the psychology of mathematics to arrive at useful recommendations for teaching mathematics at primary level to poor students in developing countries. The enrollment rates of the poorer students have im...

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Main Authors: Soendergaard, Bettina Dahl, Cachaper, Cecile
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2017
Subjects:
CBI
GER
LET
NER
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/295371468154764509/Teaching-mathematics-effectively-to-primary-students-in-developing-countries-insights-from-neuroscience-and-psychology-of-mathematics
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28116
id okr-10986-28116
recordtype oai_dc
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
en_US
topic ABILITY LEVELS
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
ACHIEVEMENT IN SCHOOL
ACHIEVEMENT SCORES
ACHIEVEMENT TESTS
ACHIEVEMENTS
ADULT STUDENTS
ADVANCED STUDENTS
ANALOGICAL REASONING
APTITUDE
ARITHMETIC
ARITHMETIC OPERATIONS
ATTENTION
BASIC SKILLS
BELIEFS
BILINGUAL EDUCATION
BILINGUAL PROGRAMS
BILINGUALISM
CBI
CHILDHOOD
CLASS SIZE
CLASSROOM
CLASSROOM SIZE
CLASSROOM TEACHERS
CLASSROOMS
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
COGNITIVE PROCESSES
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
COGNITIVE RESEARCH
COGNITIVE SCIENCE
COGNITIVE SKILLS
COMPETENCE
COMPETENCIES
COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES
CONCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE
CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING
CONFORMITY
CONTROL GROUPS
COOPERATIVE LEARNING
CREATIVITY
CRITICAL THINKING
CURRICULA
CURRICULAR REFORMS
CURRICULUM
DECISION MAKING
DIRECT INSTRUCTION
DISSERTATIONS
EARLY GRADES
EARLY INTERVENTION
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE
EDUCATIONAL PRINCIPLES
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
EDUCATORS
EFFECTIVE TEACHING
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
ELEMENTS
END OF GRADE
ENROLLMENT RATES
ENROLLMENT RATIO
EXAMS
FIRST GRADE
FORMAL EDUCATION
FORMAL SCHOOLING
FORMAL TEACHING
GENDER
GER
GIFTED STUDENTS
GIRLS
GRADE LEVELS
GROSS ENROLLMENT
GROSS ENROLLMENT RATES
HOMEWORK
HOURS OF INSTRUCTION
INCIDENTAL LEARNING
INFANTS
INSTRUCTION
INSTRUCTIONAL EFFICIENCY
INSTRUCTIONAL HOURS
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY
INSTRUCTIONAL TIME
INTEGRATED LEARNING SYSTEMS
INTERVENTIONS
INTUITION
KINDERGARTEN
KNOWLEDGE BASE
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION
LEADERSHIP
LEARNERS
LEARNING
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
LEARNING DISABILITIES
LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
LEARNING GROUPS
LEARNING MATHEMATICS
LEARNING METHODS
LEARNING OUTCOMES
LEARNING PRACTICES
LEARNING PROCESS
LEARNING PROCESSES
LEARNING PROGRAMS
LEARNING RESULTS
LEARNING STYLES
LEARNING THEORIES
LESSON PLANNING
LET
LITERATURE
LONG TERM MEMORY
MATH ACHIEVEMENT
MATH TEXTBOOKS
MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS
MATHEMATICS
MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM
MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION
MATHEMATICS SKILLS
MATHEMATICS STUDENTS
MATHEMATICS TEACHERS
MATHEMATICS TEXTBOOKS
MENTAL REPRESENTATION
METACOGNITION
METAMEMORY
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
MOTHER TONGUE
MOTIVATION
NATIONAL ASSESSMENT
NER
NET ENROLLMENT
NET ENROLLMENT RATIO
NORMAL TEACHING
NUTRITION
OLD STUDENTS
PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE
PEDAGOGY
PERCEPTION
PLAYING
PRE-SCHOOL PROGRAMS
PRIMARY EDUCATION
PRIMARY GRADE
PRIMARY GRADES
PRIMARY SCHOOL
PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
PRIMARY SCHOOLS
PRIMARY STUDENTS
PRIMARY TEACHERS
PRIMARY TEACHING
PROBLEM SOLVING
PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS
PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PROFESSIONAL GROWTH
PROFICIENCY
QUALITY OF LEARNING
QUALITY OF TEACHING
QUALITY TEACHING
READING
REASONING
RECALL
RECOGNITION
RESEARCH FINDINGS
RESEARCHERS
RETENTION
ROTE LEARNING
SCHOOL CURRICULUM
SCHOOLS
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
SOCIAL STUDIES
SPEECH
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
STUDENT ATTITUDES
STUDENT LEARNING
STUDENT OUTCOMES
STUDENT PERFORMANCE
STUDENT PROGRESS
STUDENTS LEARNING
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
SUBJECT AREAS
SUBJECT MATTER
SUBJECTS
TEACHER
TEACHER EDUCATION
TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS
TEACHER EXPECTATIONS
TEACHER KNOWLEDGE
TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS
TEACHER TRAINING
TEACHERS
TEACHING
TEACHING MATERIALS
TEACHING METHOD
TEACHING METHODS
TEACHING PRACTICE
TEACHING PROCESS
TEACHING PROGRAMS
TEST SCORES
TEXTBOOKS
TUTORING
TUTORS
UNIVERSITY LEVEL
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
WORKBOOKS
WORKING MEMORY
YOUNG CHILDREN
YOUNG PEOPLE
spellingShingle ABILITY LEVELS
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
ACHIEVEMENT IN SCHOOL
ACHIEVEMENT SCORES
ACHIEVEMENT TESTS
ACHIEVEMENTS
ADULT STUDENTS
ADVANCED STUDENTS
ANALOGICAL REASONING
APTITUDE
ARITHMETIC
ARITHMETIC OPERATIONS
ATTENTION
BASIC SKILLS
BELIEFS
BILINGUAL EDUCATION
BILINGUAL PROGRAMS
BILINGUALISM
CBI
CHILDHOOD
CLASS SIZE
CLASSROOM
CLASSROOM SIZE
CLASSROOM TEACHERS
CLASSROOMS
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
COGNITIVE PROCESSES
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
COGNITIVE RESEARCH
COGNITIVE SCIENCE
COGNITIVE SKILLS
COMPETENCE
COMPETENCIES
COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES
CONCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE
CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING
CONFORMITY
CONTROL GROUPS
COOPERATIVE LEARNING
CREATIVITY
CRITICAL THINKING
CURRICULA
CURRICULAR REFORMS
CURRICULUM
DECISION MAKING
DIRECT INSTRUCTION
DISSERTATIONS
EARLY GRADES
EARLY INTERVENTION
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE
EDUCATIONAL PRINCIPLES
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
EDUCATORS
EFFECTIVE TEACHING
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
ELEMENTS
END OF GRADE
ENROLLMENT RATES
ENROLLMENT RATIO
EXAMS
FIRST GRADE
FORMAL EDUCATION
FORMAL SCHOOLING
FORMAL TEACHING
GENDER
GER
GIFTED STUDENTS
GIRLS
GRADE LEVELS
GROSS ENROLLMENT
GROSS ENROLLMENT RATES
HOMEWORK
HOURS OF INSTRUCTION
INCIDENTAL LEARNING
INFANTS
INSTRUCTION
INSTRUCTIONAL EFFICIENCY
INSTRUCTIONAL HOURS
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY
INSTRUCTIONAL TIME
INTEGRATED LEARNING SYSTEMS
INTERVENTIONS
INTUITION
KINDERGARTEN
KNOWLEDGE BASE
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION
LEADERSHIP
LEARNERS
LEARNING
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
LEARNING DISABILITIES
LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
LEARNING GROUPS
LEARNING MATHEMATICS
LEARNING METHODS
LEARNING OUTCOMES
LEARNING PRACTICES
LEARNING PROCESS
LEARNING PROCESSES
LEARNING PROGRAMS
LEARNING RESULTS
LEARNING STYLES
LEARNING THEORIES
LESSON PLANNING
LET
LITERATURE
LONG TERM MEMORY
MATH ACHIEVEMENT
MATH TEXTBOOKS
MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS
MATHEMATICS
MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM
MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION
MATHEMATICS SKILLS
MATHEMATICS STUDENTS
MATHEMATICS TEACHERS
MATHEMATICS TEXTBOOKS
MENTAL REPRESENTATION
METACOGNITION
METAMEMORY
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
MOTHER TONGUE
MOTIVATION
NATIONAL ASSESSMENT
NER
NET ENROLLMENT
NET ENROLLMENT RATIO
NORMAL TEACHING
NUTRITION
OLD STUDENTS
PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE
PEDAGOGY
PERCEPTION
PLAYING
PRE-SCHOOL PROGRAMS
PRIMARY EDUCATION
PRIMARY GRADE
PRIMARY GRADES
PRIMARY SCHOOL
PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
PRIMARY SCHOOLS
PRIMARY STUDENTS
PRIMARY TEACHERS
PRIMARY TEACHING
PROBLEM SOLVING
PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS
PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PROFESSIONAL GROWTH
PROFICIENCY
QUALITY OF LEARNING
QUALITY OF TEACHING
QUALITY TEACHING
READING
REASONING
RECALL
RECOGNITION
RESEARCH FINDINGS
RESEARCHERS
RETENTION
ROTE LEARNING
SCHOOL CURRICULUM
SCHOOLS
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
SOCIAL STUDIES
SPEECH
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
STUDENT ATTITUDES
STUDENT LEARNING
STUDENT OUTCOMES
STUDENT PERFORMANCE
STUDENT PROGRESS
STUDENTS LEARNING
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
SUBJECT AREAS
SUBJECT MATTER
SUBJECTS
TEACHER
TEACHER EDUCATION
TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS
TEACHER EXPECTATIONS
TEACHER KNOWLEDGE
TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS
TEACHER TRAINING
TEACHERS
TEACHING
TEACHING MATERIALS
TEACHING METHOD
TEACHING METHODS
TEACHING PRACTICE
TEACHING PROCESS
TEACHING PROGRAMS
TEST SCORES
TEXTBOOKS
TUTORING
TUTORS
UNIVERSITY LEVEL
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
WORKBOOKS
WORKING MEMORY
YOUNG CHILDREN
YOUNG PEOPLE
Soendergaard, Bettina Dahl
Cachaper, Cecile
Teaching Mathematics Effectively to Primary Students in Developing Countries : Insights from Neuroscience and Psychology of Mathematics
relation GPE Working Paper Series on Learning;No. 5
description This paper uses research from neuroscience and the psychology of mathematics to arrive at useful recommendations for teaching mathematics at primary level to poor students in developing countries. The enrollment rates of the poorer students have improved tremendously in the last decade. And the global Net Enrollment Ratio (NER) has improved since 2001 from 83.2 percent to 90-95 percent except in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Making teaching of math and other subjects efficient for the poor in developing countries is a great challenge, particularly in south Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Many developing countries have explored new means of teaching math and other subjects. Mongolia changed its mathematics education, aiming to build a new set of priorities and practices, given the abandonment of earlier traditions. Similar to international trends of the time, South Africa in the 1990s extensively applied the constructivist learning philosophy which relied on exploration and discovery, with little emphasis on memorization, drill, In conformity with a belief that teachers could develop their own learning programs, there was virtual absence of a national or provincial syllabus or textbooks. Students were expected to develop their own methods for arithmetic operations, but most found it impossible to progress on their own from counting to actual calculating. This study integrates pertinent research from neuroscience and the psychology of mathematics to arrive at recommendations for curricular and efficient means of mathematics instruction particularly for developing countries and poor students at primary level. Specifically, the latest research in neuroscience, cognitive science, and discussions of national benchmarks for primary school mathematics learning, form the basis of our recommendations. These recommendations have a reasonable chance of working in the situational contexts of developing countries, with their traditions and resources.
format Working Paper
author Soendergaard, Bettina Dahl
Cachaper, Cecile
author_facet Soendergaard, Bettina Dahl
Cachaper, Cecile
author_sort Soendergaard, Bettina Dahl
title Teaching Mathematics Effectively to Primary Students in Developing Countries : Insights from Neuroscience and Psychology of Mathematics
title_short Teaching Mathematics Effectively to Primary Students in Developing Countries : Insights from Neuroscience and Psychology of Mathematics
title_full Teaching Mathematics Effectively to Primary Students in Developing Countries : Insights from Neuroscience and Psychology of Mathematics
title_fullStr Teaching Mathematics Effectively to Primary Students in Developing Countries : Insights from Neuroscience and Psychology of Mathematics
title_full_unstemmed Teaching Mathematics Effectively to Primary Students in Developing Countries : Insights from Neuroscience and Psychology of Mathematics
title_sort teaching mathematics effectively to primary students in developing countries : insights from neuroscience and psychology of mathematics
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2017
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/295371468154764509/Teaching-mathematics-effectively-to-primary-students-in-developing-countries-insights-from-neuroscience-and-psychology-of-mathematics
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28116
_version_ 1764466101325922304
spelling okr-10986-281162021-04-23T14:04:47Z Teaching Mathematics Effectively to Primary Students in Developing Countries : Insights from Neuroscience and Psychology of Mathematics Soendergaard, Bettina Dahl Cachaper, Cecile ABILITY LEVELS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT ACHIEVEMENT IN SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT SCORES ACHIEVEMENT TESTS ACHIEVEMENTS ADULT STUDENTS ADVANCED STUDENTS ANALOGICAL REASONING APTITUDE ARITHMETIC ARITHMETIC OPERATIONS ATTENTION BASIC SKILLS BELIEFS BILINGUAL EDUCATION BILINGUAL PROGRAMS BILINGUALISM CBI CHILDHOOD CLASS SIZE CLASSROOM CLASSROOM SIZE CLASSROOM TEACHERS CLASSROOMS COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT COGNITIVE PROCESSES COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY COGNITIVE RESEARCH COGNITIVE SCIENCE COGNITIVE SKILLS COMPETENCE COMPETENCIES COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES CONCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING CONFORMITY CONTROL GROUPS COOPERATIVE LEARNING CREATIVITY CRITICAL THINKING CURRICULA CURRICULAR REFORMS CURRICULUM DECISION MAKING DIRECT INSTRUCTION DISSERTATIONS EARLY GRADES EARLY INTERVENTION EDUCATION PROGRAMS EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE EDUCATIONAL PRINCIPLES EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM EDUCATORS EFFECTIVE TEACHING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ELEMENTS END OF GRADE ENROLLMENT RATES ENROLLMENT RATIO EXAMS FIRST GRADE FORMAL EDUCATION FORMAL SCHOOLING FORMAL TEACHING GENDER GER GIFTED STUDENTS GIRLS GRADE LEVELS GROSS ENROLLMENT GROSS ENROLLMENT RATES HOMEWORK HOURS OF INSTRUCTION INCIDENTAL LEARNING INFANTS INSTRUCTION INSTRUCTIONAL EFFICIENCY INSTRUCTIONAL HOURS INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY INSTRUCTIONAL TIME INTEGRATED LEARNING SYSTEMS INTERVENTIONS INTUITION KINDERGARTEN KNOWLEDGE BASE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION LEADERSHIP LEARNERS LEARNING LEARNING ACTIVITIES LEARNING DIFFICULTIES LEARNING DISABILITIES LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS LEARNING GROUPS LEARNING MATHEMATICS LEARNING METHODS LEARNING OUTCOMES LEARNING PRACTICES LEARNING PROCESS LEARNING PROCESSES LEARNING PROGRAMS LEARNING RESULTS LEARNING STYLES LEARNING THEORIES LESSON PLANNING LET LITERATURE LONG TERM MEMORY MATH ACHIEVEMENT MATH TEXTBOOKS MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS MATHEMATICS MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM MATHEMATICS EDUCATION MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION MATHEMATICS SKILLS MATHEMATICS STUDENTS MATHEMATICS TEACHERS MATHEMATICS TEXTBOOKS MENTAL REPRESENTATION METACOGNITION METAMEMORY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION MOTHER TONGUE MOTIVATION NATIONAL ASSESSMENT NER NET ENROLLMENT NET ENROLLMENT RATIO NORMAL TEACHING NUTRITION OLD STUDENTS PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE PEDAGOGY PERCEPTION PLAYING PRE-SCHOOL PROGRAMS PRIMARY EDUCATION PRIMARY GRADE PRIMARY GRADES PRIMARY SCHOOL PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS PRIMARY SCHOOLS PRIMARY STUDENTS PRIMARY TEACHERS PRIMARY TEACHING PROBLEM SOLVING PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL GROWTH PROFICIENCY QUALITY OF LEARNING QUALITY OF TEACHING QUALITY TEACHING READING REASONING RECALL RECOGNITION RESEARCH FINDINGS RESEARCHERS RETENTION ROTE LEARNING SCHOOL CURRICULUM SCHOOLS SKILL DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL STUDIES SPEECH STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT STUDENT ATTITUDES STUDENT LEARNING STUDENT OUTCOMES STUDENT PERFORMANCE STUDENT PROGRESS STUDENTS LEARNING STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES SUBJECT AREAS SUBJECT MATTER SUBJECTS TEACHER TEACHER EDUCATION TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS TEACHER EXPECTATIONS TEACHER KNOWLEDGE TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS TEACHER TRAINING TEACHERS TEACHING TEACHING MATERIALS TEACHING METHOD TEACHING METHODS TEACHING PRACTICE TEACHING PROCESS TEACHING PROGRAMS TEST SCORES TEXTBOOKS TUTORING TUTORS UNIVERSITY LEVEL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WORKBOOKS WORKING MEMORY YOUNG CHILDREN YOUNG PEOPLE This paper uses research from neuroscience and the psychology of mathematics to arrive at useful recommendations for teaching mathematics at primary level to poor students in developing countries. The enrollment rates of the poorer students have improved tremendously in the last decade. And the global Net Enrollment Ratio (NER) has improved since 2001 from 83.2 percent to 90-95 percent except in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Making teaching of math and other subjects efficient for the poor in developing countries is a great challenge, particularly in south Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Many developing countries have explored new means of teaching math and other subjects. Mongolia changed its mathematics education, aiming to build a new set of priorities and practices, given the abandonment of earlier traditions. Similar to international trends of the time, South Africa in the 1990s extensively applied the constructivist learning philosophy which relied on exploration and discovery, with little emphasis on memorization, drill, In conformity with a belief that teachers could develop their own learning programs, there was virtual absence of a national or provincial syllabus or textbooks. Students were expected to develop their own methods for arithmetic operations, but most found it impossible to progress on their own from counting to actual calculating. This study integrates pertinent research from neuroscience and the psychology of mathematics to arrive at recommendations for curricular and efficient means of mathematics instruction particularly for developing countries and poor students at primary level. Specifically, the latest research in neuroscience, cognitive science, and discussions of national benchmarks for primary school mathematics learning, form the basis of our recommendations. These recommendations have a reasonable chance of working in the situational contexts of developing countries, with their traditions and resources. 2017-09-06T19:40:31Z 2017-09-06T19:40:31Z 2008-12-30 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/295371468154764509/Teaching-mathematics-effectively-to-primary-students-in-developing-countries-insights-from-neuroscience-and-psychology-of-mathematics http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28116 English en_US GPE Working Paper Series on Learning;No. 5 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Working Paper Publications & Research