Mathematical mind
Mathematical mind
Use for works concerning Montessori's theoretical construct of the human tendency toward exactness, measurement, abstraction, reason, patterns, and logical coherence, including works about the development of this tendency through the prepared environment across all planes of development.
Mathematical mind is a term Montessori borrowed from French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal to describe the human tendency to think logically, quantify, and recognize patterns. Montessori believed that all children have an innate mathematical ability that emerges when provided hands-on experiences with numbers, shapes, and spatial relationships. Materials such as number rods, golden beads, and geometric solids help children internalize mathematical concepts concretely before moving to abstract reasoning.
Montessori, M. (2007). The absorbent mind. Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company. (Original work published 1949)
Montessori, M. (2007). Education for a new world. Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company. (Original work published 1946)
Montessori, M. (2011). Psychogeometry (B. Scoppola, Ed.). Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company. (Original work published 1934)
Baker, K. M. (1991). Developing the mathematical mind. NAMTA Journal, 17(1), 83–96. archives.montessori-ami.org/do/3a67e207-8b0a-41f2-88c4-26e3c9829cb5
Sackett, G. (2014). “The lines that make the clouds”: The essence of the mathematical mind in the first six years of life. NAMTA Journal, 39(2), 197–215. https://archives.montessori-ami.org/do/c343ea29-667b-45d8-8110-86a63936b9c9
Helfrich, M. S. (2010). The mathematical mind. NAMTA Journal, 35(2), 85–99. https://archives.montessori-ami.org/do/311602bd-c74b-45f4-9518-7fa08348945c
Waski, M. (2017). How the mathematical mind of the adolescent develops from early adolescence to late adolescence. The NAMTA Journal, 42(3), 5–16. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1183088.pdf
Feigenson, L., Libertus, M. E., & Halberda, J. (2013). Links Between the Intuitive Sense of Number and Formal Mathematics Ability. Child Development Perspectives, 7(2), 74–79. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12019
Jakovác, A., & Telcs, A. (2025). Representation and abstraction. Mathematics, 13(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/math13101666
Pantsar, P. (2024). Numerical cognition and the epistemology of arithmetic. In Numerical Cognition and the Epistemology of Arithmetic (p. 252). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009468862
Broader Terms
Related terms
- EQ Esprit mathématique (Glossaire Montessori / fr-FR)
- ERIC Thesaurus Mathematical Aptitude
