Number Sense
Are you good at estimating numbers of things? Well, if you are this special skill could help you get higher test scores in math. Studies done at John Hopkins University of Baltimore showed that people that have a good sense of estimation have had better math scores on standardized tests than people who didn't have good estimation skills. All humans have this estimation, but it depends on how high the skill is in your body.
Researchers from the University of Baltimore tested 64 fourteen-year-olds. They told them to look at a picture of blue and yellow dots. Each picture had 10 to 32 dots on it. Some pictures had more blue dots than yellow and others had more yellow than blue. Then the students had to pick the picture with the most dots of one color. The trick was that the students only had a fraction of a second to look at the picture. The researchers found a wide variety of how well the students could pick out which picture had more of one color dots. Some kids could clearly distinguish which picture had more of the same color dots, but others couldn't. Then, the researchers looked at the fourteen-year-old's test scores all the way from kindergarten to 8th grade. The kids who did well on the dot test also did very well on their standardized math tests. In addition, the kids who didn't do that well on the dot test also had lower test scores on their standardized test scores.
This study shows that there could be a link between low test scores and how people can estimate in their head. Scientists still are continuing to look at this possible resolution and are still researching if a person's number sense is linked to their overall math education.
By: M.B.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/36601/title/FOR_KIDS_Math_and_our_number_sense
Posts
