The MSCL Program supports projects in both basic and intervention research within all aspects of mathematical thinking and problem solving as well as in scientific reasoning, learning, and discovery, across all ages from infancy into early adulthood. Of particular interest are studies that explore a variety of influences on atypical development in mathematics and science learning and cognition in both humans and animal models, including genetic and neurobiological substrates, and cognitive, linguistic, sociocultural, and instructional factors. Core areas of research focus include investigations of the individual differences that may moderate achievement in math and science; the delineation of skill sets needed to attain proficiency in these domains; the means to address the kinds of learning difficulties that frequently emerge in each of these areas; and the development of effective instructional methods for mitigating these difficulties.

Mathematical Cognition and Learning. Areas of focus within typical development of quantitative reasoning and mathematical proficiency include basic numerical representations and processing, number- and time-line representations and processing, arithmetic comprehension and procedural skills, proficiency with fractions and other types of rational numbers, algebraic problem solving, geometric thinking, concepts of probability and chance, understanding and interpretation of graphical and statistical representations, and measurement concepts and skills. Although the Program supports all methodologies, it gives priority to longitudinal studies on the development of mathematical proficiency beginning either in infancy, the preschool period, or in the early grades. Program-supported research has also investigated the efficacy of classroom and tutorial intervention/instruction in math. The Program’s neuroimaging research and animal models enable researchers to reveal brain patterns reflective of learning mathematics.

Mathematical Learning Disabilities. The Program funds studies exploring the nature and extent of specific mathematical learning disabilities, including diagnosis, classification, etiology, prevention, and treatment. Of interest are children with idiopathic mathematical learning disabilities, those with co-morbid math and reading disabilities, and children with neurodevelopmental disorders for whom deficient math performance represents one of the primary cognitive sequelae. The Program encourages epidemiological longitudinal studies to estimate the prevalence of learning disabilities in mathematics. Of particular importance are studies of the effects of poverty on the failure to develop mathematical proficiency, and the identification of risk and protective factors within these contexts.

The Mathematical Cognition and Specific Learning Disabilities Research Consortium is among the projects supported by the Program. Other specific Program research includes studies of neuroimaging differences between children with and without mathematical learning disabilities, developing predictors of difficulties in learning math, links between difficulties in mathematics and in other areas of cognition, effects of math intervention on children with and without mathematical learning disabilities, effects of combining intervention methods, and subtypes of mathematical learning disabilities.

Science Cognition and Learning. This area of research emphasis includes studies to improve understanding of the cognitive and developmental bases of scientific thinking, reasoning, and learning. The Program encourages research on factors contributing to conceptual change, inductive and deductive reasoning, and the acquisition of scientific concepts, such as experimental control and falsifiability. Related topics of interest include causal thinking and inference, theory-evidence coordination, and reasoning about data. Also important is the investigation of developmental changes in naïve or intuitive thinking about the biological and physical worlds. The Program supports studies that can inform the design of evidence-based instructional interventions that improve scientific reasoning and scientific content acquisition, as well as the ability to use and apply both this content knowledge and the process of scientific inquiry. Specific topics of study include children’s understanding of causal relevance, children’s grasp of causal powers, the changes as children grow in their assumptions about the functions of unknown objects, and how best to present scientific concepts to enable children’s learning.

STEM Career and Activity Preferences. Gender, race, and ethnicity are associated with disparities in positive attitudes toward and preference for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities. To better enable all U.S. populations to participate in these growing economic sectors, the Program supports research that provides a clear understanding of the basis for and development of these preference differences as well as how educational, sociocultural, and other environmental factors might promote STEM activity preference.

Program director: Kathy Mann Koepke