Number Sense

In mathematics education, number sense can refer to "an intuitive understanding of numbers, their magnitude, relationships, and how they are affected by operations." Other definitions of number sense emphasize an ability to work outside of the traditionally taught algorithms, e.g., "a well organised conceptual framework of number information that enables a person to understand numbers and number relationships and to solve mathematical problems that are not bound by traditional algorithms".

Psychologists believe that the number sense in humans can be differentiated into the approximate number system, a system that supports the estimation of the magnitude, and the parallel individuation system, which allows the tracking of individual objects, typically for quantities below 4.

There are also some differences in how number sense is defined in math cognition. For example, Gersten and Chard say number sense "refers to a child's fluidity and flexibility with numbers, the sense of what numbers mean and an ability to perform mental mathematics and to look at the world and make comparisons."

In non-human animals, number sense is not the ability to count, but the ability to perceive changes in the number of things in a collection. All mammals, and most birds, will notice if there is a change in the number of their young nearby. Many birds can distinguish two from three. In humans, small children around fourteen months of age are also able to notice something that is missing from a group that they are familiar with.

Researchers consider number sense to be of prime importance for children in early elementary education, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has made number sense a focus area of pre-K through 2nd grade mathematics education. An active area of research is to create and test teaching strategies to develop children's number sense. Number Sense also refers to the contest hosted by the University Interscholastic League. This contest is a ten-minute test where contestants solve math problems mentally—no calculators, scratch-work, or mark-outs are allowed.

The term "number sense" involves several concepts of magnitude, ranking, comparison, measurement, rounding, percents, and estimation, including:

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