Margaret Sinclair had a talent for designing carefully structured explorations that helped many students and teachers develop a deeper understanding of math through visualization. She believed that math is a beautiful and critically important subject that can be made accessible and engaging for all learners. New research in cognitive science supports these beliefs and suggests that math may be the most universally accessible and important subject for young brains.

In this talk, I will present evidence-- based on my work with thousands of students and the literature on learning-- that virtually all people have the capacity to understand math at a very high level. I will discuss the challenges that people typically face in learning math and demonstrate some approaches to teaching-- that are aligned with Dr. Sinclair’s methods and are supported by the science of learning-- that could help us nurture the full intellectual potential of every student and create a more equitable and productive society.

Bio: Dr. John Mighton is a playwright turned mathematician and author who founded JUMP Math as a charity in 2001. His work in fostering numeracy and in building children's self-confidence through success in math has been widely recognized. He has been named a Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year, an Ernst & Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year for Canada, an Ashoka Fellow, an Officer of the Order of Canada, and has received five honorary doctorates. John is also the recipient of the 10th Annual Egerton Ryerson Award for Dedication to Public Education.