Using your fingers to count has long been the scourge of math teachers. But a new research paper published online by Stanford University’s mathematics education research initiative, Youcubed, dispels the notion that finger-counting isn’t for smart kids.
In the paper, professor of mathematics education Jo Boaler cites studies from a branch of neuroscience that focuses on the part of the brain dedicated to the perception and representation of fingers (known as the somatosensory finger area). She argues that visual cues and pathways in the brain are key to the teaching and understanding of math.
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