How the Brain Processes Numbers: What This Means for Math Education in West Africa

Echegu Darlington Arinze

School of Mathematics and Computing, Kampala International University, Uganda

Email: darlington.echegu@kiu.ac.ug nzeechegu@gmail.com

ORCID: 0009-0002-6644-1709

ABSTRACT

Teaching mathematics in West Africa is critical because of the collision of culture and brain function there. Numerical notions are significantly influenced by West African educational institutions, language diversity, and cultural aspects. Motivation and retention of mathematical concepts may be increased in pupils by Native American knowledge, language resources, and community-based activities. Maths instruction may involve the brain more fully with the use of technology-based techniques and neurodevelopmental research. Both mobile learning applications and digital learning platforms may provide engaging and conveniently available learning opportunities. Information that young people in West Africa get also heavily depends on the actions and engagement of their parents at home. Finding out how different languages spoken in the area, traditional number systems, and teaching approaches impact people’s capacity to understand numbers is the aim of this research. It addresses how, with parental involvement and at home activities, kids may learn mathematics and grow their brains. Furthermore, discussed is the need of cultural relevance in mathematical teaching. Understanding the effect of mental activities on the brain and gaining understanding about neurodevelopment help us to enhance customised learning. We utilised relevant published data (2004–2014) from diverse, reliable databases.  The findings imply that to raise children’s interest in mathematics, teacher preparation programmes and technology-based methods should be used. Children in West Africa would therefore at last have more equal educational chances and improved neurodevelopmental results.

Keywords: brain, numbers, mathematics, education, neurodevelopment, West Africa

CITE AS: Echegu Darlington Arinze (2024). How the Brain Processes Numbers: What This Means for Math Education in West Africa. INOSR Experimental Sciences 13(3):1-7. https://doi.org/10.59298/INOSRES/2024/13317.000