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The last March 14 was celebrated the International Day of Mathematics, a very special day for lovers of addition and subtraction. That is why today we dedicate ourselves to the exact sciences and talented children in mathematics.
How to talk about these children? Is it a natural or acquired ability? When is it a child with great facility to perform calculations and operations and when a child with talent?
What is talent in mathematics
The first thing to know is that it is difficult to classify children with high capacities. Although there are the classic tests that measure the IQ, at present there are numerous currents that discourage these tests. Studies and pedagogues who affirm that there is little that these tests can elucidate. This, based on the hypothesis that human beings have at least 7 types of intelligences. These tests only deal with the intelligence most linked to logic. And thus, they leave out other types of intelligence such as that linked to music, sports and emotional intelligence.
What is known is that a talented child is not linked to the idea that he is a genius or a gifted child. Nor is it related to those children who best solve mathematical exercises or obtain the best grades. Is that the talented kids in math raise the bar. They go beyond good grades, the amount of exercises they solve or the memory they have for calculations.
Mathematical thinking
We talk about talented kids in math when these little ones present a series of characteristics typical of what is called «mathematical thinking». This way of thinking goes far beyond a simple resolution. It includes a great capacity for abstraction, the ability to formulate questions and arrive at conjectures, and the ability to go from the particular to the general. That is, starting from initial cases and then arriving at a theory that will also be argued and demonstrated, all through mathematical logic.
There are children who are fast when performing mental calculations, solving problems or participating in math Olympics. However, they lack the capacity for deduction and abstraction involved in mathematical work. Now, in addition to solving the bills quickly, the talented kids in math They have a plus: the capacity for logical reflection, inference skills and a great capacity for abstraction. This leads them to ask themselves new questions and thus resolve issues until they find solutions. It is common for this game of questions and answers that lead to more questions and new formulations to be fun and a challenge that also generates curiosity.
Spot math talent
If the talented kids in math They are characterized by bringing together a series of skills and a very particular type of thinking, it is possible to account for this ability by analyzing some questions. One of the outstanding characteristics of talented children in mathematics is that they have a great capacity for formulating problems and new activities in a natural way while exhibiting a type of creative and flexible thinking to tackle mathematical problems.
But to this is added the capacity for connection between proposed problems and mathematical structures added to accelerated learning. The talented kids in math They are children with a critical and persevering personality who tend to propose original ideas while showing great interest and enthusiasm for mathematical work. It is not for less, mathematics is almost a game for them that challenges them and where they can give life to their concerns. It is science that constantly challenges your thirst for analysis. This is because its capacity for abstraction is greater than the average, with the possibility of going from the particular to the general and thus establish theories and formulas.
The talented kids in math They also have other characteristics that are repeated: a particular spatial ability, great independence, logic, a special ability to use information from short-term memory, and great reasoning ability. They are children who also have great intuition, are good communicators and have a great ability to translate linguistic information into mathematical language. Finally, they are children who optimize methodologies to achieve the goal.