Learning of Mathematical Analysis Based on the Integration of Philosophical Analysis and Neurocognitive Findings of Symbolic Mathematics

Document Type : پژوهشی

Authors

• Azam Taherkhani ¹
• Saeid Zarghami-Hamrah ²
• Hasan Ashayerih ³
• Yahya Ghaedi ²

¹ PhD Student, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

² Asociate Prof., Kharazmi University

³ Professor, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

10.22067/fedu.2022.67302.0

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the learning of mathematical analysis based on the integration of philosophical analysis and neurocognitive findings. For this purpose, learning mathematical analysis, as one of the aspects of mathematical thinking, has been studied using learning numerical symbols in children based on the neurophilosophical method. To that end, three observational propositions have been deduced from cognitive neuroscience findings on symbolic mathematics: symbolic learning of numbers changes children's brains; the processing of symbolic numbers and nonsymbolic numbers are heterogeneous and there is a vague, bidirectional connection between them; the symbolic knowledge of numbers plays an important role in the future development of children in higher-level mathematics. Then, based on these three propositions, an attempt has been made to examine the philosophical questions of the research and the challenges related to them.
In this paper, we argue that combining symbolic numbers learning with the knowledge of how numerical symbols are created and encouraging children to make consistent connections between numerical symbols and their mental meaning and verbal expression can provide the necessary grounds for the enrichment of metacognitive abilities such as error detection. However, it is necessary to consider challenges such as how children become acquainted with the theory of evolution taking into account cultural issues, the type of strategies needed to improve the relationship between semantic and symbolic understanding of numbers in children, and the level of emphasis on problem-solving processes (which also requires symbol-based analysis) in mathematics’ education in Iran to improve children's thinking abilities.

Keywords

• Learning of mathematical analysis
• Philosophical analysis
• Cognitive neuroscience
• Symbolic number processing

20.1001.1.22516360.1400.11.1.5.3

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