Development of Mathematical Reasoning
Résumé
Mathematical cognition provides a foundation for the development of skills critical for success in the 21st century. The use of mathematics to categorize, visualize, and manipulate information now extends to virtually all domains of human activity, making the necessity for basic mathematical skills more pressing than ever. This chapter summarizes current knowledge about the developmental and neurocognitive basis of mathematical reasoning. We review central cognitive theories and summarize emerging findings on the perceptual and cognitive building blocks of numerical cognition, the functional brain circuits associated with them, and the multiple memory and cognitive‐control systems that play a critical role in scaffolding children's mathematical skill development. We highlight neurodevelopmental models and functional brain circuits that go beyond individual regions involved in number processing and demonstrate that brain systems and circuits engaged by the developing brain are not the same as those engaged in adult brains sculpted by years of learning.