Number sense
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psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
, number sense is the term used for the hypothesis that some animals, particularly humans, have a biologically determined ability that allows them to represent and manipulate large numerical quantities. The term was popularized by Stanislas Dehaene in his 1997 book "The Number Sense". Psychologists believe that the number sense in humans can be differentiated into the
approximate number system The approximate number system (ANS) is a cognitive system that supports the estimation of the magnitude of a group without relying on language or symbols. The ANS is credited with the non-symbolic representation of all numbers greater than four, ...
, a system that supports the estimation of the
magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...
, and the
parallel individuation system The parallel individuation system, also called object tracking system is a non- symbolic cognitive system that supports the representation of numerical values from zero to three (in infants) or four (in adults and non-human animals). It is one of ...
, which allows the tracking of individual objects, typically for quantities below 4. There are also some differences in how number sense is defined in math
cognition Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
. For example, Gersten and Chard say number sense "refers to a child's fluidity and flexibility with numbers, the sense of what numbers mean and an ability to perform mental mathematics and to look at the world and make comparisons." In non-human animals, number sense is not the ability to count, but the ability to perceive changes in the number of things in a collection. All mammals, and most birds, will notice if there is a change in the number of their young nearby. Many birds can distinguish two from three. Researchers consider number sense to be of prime importance for children in early
elementary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or firs ...
, and the
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Founded in 1920, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is a professional organization for schoolteachers of mathematics in the United States. One of its goals is to improve the standards of mathematics in education. NCTM holds an ...
has made number sense a focus area of pre-K through 2nd grade mathematics education. An active area of research is to create and test teaching strategies to develop children's number sense. Number sense also refers to the contest hosted by the
University Interscholastic League The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, musical, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest organi ...
. This contest is a ten-minute test where contestants solve math problems mentally—no calculators, scratch-work, or mark-outs are allowed.


Concepts involved in number sense

The term ''"number sense"'' involves several concepts of
magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...
,
ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of o ...
,
comparison Comparison or comparing is the act of evaluating two or more things by determining the relevant, comparable characteristics of each thing, and then determining which characteristics of each are similar to the other, which are different, and t ...
,
measurement Measurement is the quantification of attributes of an object or event, which can be used to compare with other objects or events. In other words, measurement is a process of determining how large or small a physical quantity is as compared ...
,
rounding Rounding means replacing a number with an approximate value that has a shorter, simpler, or more explicit representation. For example, replacing $ with $, the fraction 312/937 with 1/3, or the expression with . Rounding is often done to obta ...
, percents, and
estimation Estimation (or estimating) is the process of finding an estimate or approximation, which is a value that is usable for some purpose even if input data may be incomplete, uncertain, or unstable. The value is nonetheless usable because it is der ...
, including:"Unit 1: Number and Number Sense" (20-day lesson), STPSB.org, St. Tammany Parish School Board,
Covington, LA Covington is a city in, and the parish seat of, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,564 at the 2020 United States census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River. Covington is part of ...
(USA), 2009, overview webpage:
ST-MathGrade7Unit-topics
* estimating with large numbers to provide reasonable approximations; * judging the degree of precision appropriate to a situation; *understanding the hidden meaning of numbers through analytical and critical thinking (e.g.,
Freakonomics ''Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything'' is the debut non-fiction book by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and ''New York Times'' journalist Stephen J. Dubner. Published on April 12, 2005, by Will ...
); * rounding (understanding reasons for rounding large numbers and limitations in comparisons); * choosing measurement units to make sense for a given situation; * solving real-life problems involving percentages and decimal portions; * comparing physical measurements within and between the U.S. and
metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the Decimal, decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in French Revolution, France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the d ...
s; and * comparing degrees
Fahrenheit The Fahrenheit scale () is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accounts of how he originally defined his ...
and
Celsius The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The ...
in real-life situations. Those concepts are taught in elementary-level education.


See also

* * * * * * * * * * *


References

{{Reflist, 2


External links


Number Worlds
- a site with number sense development materials Cognitive science Educational psychology