Neuroscience Experiments for Mathematics Education

These experiments are explicit, designed to give clear outcomes, and have significant impact on educational practice. The first group explores difficulties caused by mixing cognitively distinct activities. Topics are multiplication of polynomials, word problems, and customary notation and usage. The second group explores subliminal (invisible or unanticipated) learning. Topics are algebra in elementary arithmetic, learning multiplication facts, and kinetic reenforcement of function graphs. For quite some time it has seemed that cognitive neuroscience should contribute powerfully to math education, but this has not happened. This article shows that a connection is possible. A companion article (Mathematics education versus cognitive neuroscience) explores reasons for the failure to date; there seem to be deeply rooted structural problems.