Understanding functional brain reorganization for numeracy in early childhood

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

Numeracy begins informally before children enter school and appears to have profound effects on personal, professional, and educational trajectories. The development of numeracy is also associated with major functional reorganization of the brain. However, the relationship between these brain changes and the development of numeracy remains unclear. The purpose of this project is to advance our understanding of the relationship between brain and cognitive development during early numeracy acquisition. This will be accomplished by measuring and analyzing the relationship between functional brain organization and numerical development in a large, diverse group of children at three critical developmental time points from 3-6 years of age. Doing this will establish a coherent timeline of brain and cognitive development in the emergence of numeracy from early to middle childhood, advance understanding of the underlying biological and cognitive mechanisms, and determine what early brain and cognitive-behavioral factors are most predictive of mathematics achievement in the first year of elementary school. Results regarding predictive factors and underlying mechanisms of numeracy will provide a foundation that may inform future curricular interventions and parenting practices that promote early numeracy in preschool children. Brain development results will provide a novel empirical basis on which to identify and evaluate typical and atypical developmental trajectories in individuals before entering school. This project will harness the complementary strengths of temporally-resolved electrophysiological brain measures (event-related potentials, ERP) and spatially-resolved optical measures (functional near-infrared spectroscopy, fNIRS) to track key functional brain changes longitudinally from before children are numerate (~3 years), during numeracy acquisition (~4 years), and after they have started formal schooling (~5-6 years). Symbolic numeracy abilities will also be assessed at all these timepoints using standardized and experimental tasks. Participation in the project will be open to all. Statistical models will then be applied to identify developmental predictors and assess directionality in longitudinal brain-behavior relationships, while also rigorously accounting for non-numerical cognitive, linguistic, and maturational factors. Results will increase understanding as to whether and to what extent relationships between brain changes and cognitive development in numeracy result from general cognitive development or number-specific experience, identify early predictors of school readiness, and provide insights into the cognitive and brain mechanisms that support numeracy learning. Results also promise to adjudicate between theories of numeracy development, including whether and to what extent core non-verbal number systems form a foundation for symbolic numeracy, whether numerical development involves conceptual change or knowledge enrichment, and whether numeracy is supported by domain-general or domain-specific learning mechanisms. The hope is that results will also lead to new theories on the broader relationship between biology and environment. This project is supported by the EDU Core Research (ECR) program. ECR emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad, and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.