Quite simply put, children with higher math ability learn better. However, it usually takes more than one statement to convince parents and students that mathematical training is worth the investment of time and energy.
Developing an analytical mindset and training your ability to do math can help kids get a grasp on some of the most fundamental concepts of logic and thought that is essential for today’s students. Students today are entering a challenging world where simple facts and knowledge can be found with a click of a button on the internet. Acclaimed private tutor Landon Schertz supports the idea that the onset of the Industrial Revolution may have marked the start of the age of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education, in which a person’s knowledge and understanding of mathematics is instrumental to their understanding of the world around them. According to most modern psychologists, there are at least four defining elements of intelligence, many of which can be measured directly or indirectly by way of the strength and capacity to understand mathematics.
The human brain is composed of 150 billion nerve cells that are connected through 65 trillion synapses that allow individuals to understand abstract concepts about their environments. The universal language of mathematics is a tool that when trained, can allow us to coordinate the activities of these neurons so that they fire in a synchronous way. Understanding and proficiency in foundational concepts of math are necessary for effective learning – in and outside of the classroom.
A basic understanding of mathematics includes the ability to use information with graphs and charts, and provide an interpretation that shows the purpose of the graph or chart, and identifies issues surrounding the specific problem. This use of information and interpretation of data are skills that are immediately helpful in any field of endeavor. Mathematics education usually involves a lot of course work that includes problem-solving, reasoning, and logic, and this prepares learners to encounter many unknown, future challenges. Students start exploring the world of mathematics by solving problems that occur in real-world situations, which helps to form and solidify the bridge between classrooms and the real world. Math education helps students gain the idea that their knowledge is directly tied to the reality that they are facing in everyday life. Landon Schertz emphasizes how having a love for mathematics is very important beyond school.
In fact, a small study of 376 elementary school students found that higher numerical ability predicts higher gray matter volume in the adult prefrontal cortex. This area of the brain is associated with many higher-level brain functions, like planning, problem-solving, and creativity. This research is published in Psychological Science. Most previous work has focused on the benefits of math in classroom and extracurricular settings, including at work, but it hasn’t paid much attention to the effects of academic and competitive mathematics on the quality of children’s cognitive functioning at school; the way they learn math, or the cognitive flexibility required for innovation and creativity. However, the field of psychology and neuroscience are beginning to uncover what many have always thought about the benefits of the study of math: that students who engage in arithmetic problems tend to score better in both nonverbal and verbal activities, musical endeavors, and attention and focus tests. Their findings suggest that faster than average performance among many academic and real-world applications is correlated with higher applications of math. The researchers also hypothesized that students with higher math ability would have greater attention-based skills, which would allow them to perform more creatively as well. After many years of tutoring, and a love of teaching mathematics to students, Landon Schertz agrees with these findings, specifically in the areas of focus, attention, and creative problem-solving.
Cognitive researchers have sometimes focused on designing innovative strategies to improve math school curricula, and there’s a strong body of research that understands why teachers are most effective when they engage students better than their peers, in math. Getting a private tutor like Landon Schertz can help with this challenge. Many researchers are exploring how to disrupt math performance in the classroom, and private tutoring continues to pop up as a solution that, while not accessible to all, could give students the best chance at high performance. Distinct methods to improve math performance are needed for all learners and ultimately benefit all students. Teachers need to know how to increase their children’s math skills as early as kindergarten and then continue improving their knowledge to address students’ needs, and Landon Schertz is a highly-acclaimed tutor that specializes in the STEM disciplines. As an add-on to regular coursework, work with a private tutor can significantly supplement the math curriculum, giving it context outside of a textbook, or an instructor that may not have time to address all of his or her students’ needs. This work has important implications for planning school curricula and teacher training, and it suggests that planning and instruction work better than formal testing, which is the method that most U.S. schools use to assess performance and proficiency in mathematics.