What neuroscience tells us about who can & can’t do math w/ Hillary Mastarciyan
Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) What happens in the brain when we're learning math? What makes some students struggle more than others with it? Can someone study brain science if they're scared of math?! These are some of the questions that took today's guest Hillary Mastarciyan from severe math anxiety in high school (she was a former student at Vanessa's tutoring centre) to her current PhD in neuroscience at Toronto Metropolitan University! In today's episode, they discuss: if math anxiety is "transmissible" to students (from either teachers or parents) the real reasons we see differences in math attitudes between genders how learning math is different from learning reading in the brain Hillary is living proof that math anxiety in school doesn't put an expiry date on your ambitions - if she can become a neuroscientist, you can achieve your dreams too! Articles mentioned: The AIM Collective: Connecting Research and Practice in Canadian Early Mathematics Education Bridges over troubled waters: education and cognitive neuroscience Computing Whether She Belongs: Stereotypes Undermine Girls’ Interest and Sense of Belonging in Computer Science About Hillary: Hillary Mastarciyan is a PhD student in Psychological Sciences at Toronto Metropolitan University, working in the neuroIDEA Lab under the supervision of Dr. Moriah Sokolowski. Her research draws on developmental psychology, numerical cognition, and cognitive neuroscience to investigate how children develop mathematical knowledge and why some learners struggle to acquire foundational mathematical skills. She aims to build on this work by combining behavioural and neuroscientific approaches to better understand the cognitive foundations of early mathematical learning and the factors that support successful development in mathematics. Contact us: Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email Math Therapy: Text the Podcast More Math Therapy: Get the book: Corwin, Amazon Audiobook: Audible, Spotify Merch store: Shop here
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