Building a Positive Math Identity: A Brain-Science Approach

by Liesl McConchie

Overview

When brain science meets math success

Emotions drive learning. This is an essential component of understanding how a student’s math identity is closely connected to their math success. How a student sees themselves in relation to math is dynamically constructed in their brain and is constantly changing. Every learner deserves to exist in harmony with mathematics. This book shows you how to make that mantra a reality for all students.

Liesl McConchie offers an exciting new perspective on math identity through her extensive research on how the brain learns. Liesl walks readers through cognitive neuroscience in a humorous and friendly way, using metaphors and everyday stories to explain how emotions and cognition interact. She offers engaging and simple brain-based strategies and activities to implement in the classroom.

In Building a Positive Math Identity: A Brain Science Approach, Liesl

• Translates complex brain science principles for educators in an accessible and engaging way
• Provides practical exercises and lessons that you can use in classroom right away
• Shares real-world stories that provide deeper insight into how math identity is shaped over the years
• Offers activities to help teachers gain insight into the math identities of our students
• Guides teachers to explore our own math identity and the impact it can have on our students

Most important, the book pushes back on the prevailing message about math identity that tends to focus on student efficacy alone. This approach puts the burden on the individual, which can lead to additional oppression of those who have been most marginalized in math. Here’s our opportunity as educators to reexamine what it means to have a positive math identity--and to learn to use brain-based tools to build on a positive math identity for our students from the earliest ages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781071909249
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	09/01/2025
Series:	Corwin Mathematics Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Liesl McConchie is an international expert on how the brain learns, and co-author of Corwin’s best-selling book Brain-Based Learning with Dr. Eric Jensen. She has been published in multiple education journals, including ASCD′s Educational Leadership journal and NCTM’s Mathematics Teacher. With over 25 years of experience in education, Liesl bridges her knowledge of how the brain best learns with her experience of teaching math to create tangible strategies to support teachers and schools across the globe. She has a rich background in education that includes creating new schools, leading whole-school reforms, delivering workshops to educators, and speaking at conferences. Liesl brings the highest quality of research, professionalism, and engagement to all her contributions to the field of education.

 

Table of Contents

Dedication
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I: How Emotion and Cognition Collide to Inform Math Identity
Chapter 1: What Is Math Identity
Chapter 1: Appendix
Chapter 2: The Relationship Between Emotion and Cognition
Part II: The Four Variables of Math Identity
Chapter 3: My Past Relationship With Math
Chapter 4: My Future Relationship With Math
Chapter 5: The Socio-Cultural Influences Affecting My Relationship With Math
Chapter 6: My Personal Relationship With Math
Part III: Applying What You’ve Learned to You and Your Classroom
Chapter 7: Your Own Math Identity as a Teacher
Chapter 8: Teaching Practices That Impact Math Identity
Chapter 9: Where We’ve Been; Where We’re Going
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

This book is EVERYTHING! It is THE ultimate brain-based guide to math identity. Easy to read, packed with powerful tips, and guaranteed to level up your teaching game–every teacher NEEDS this book! I could not be more obsessed.

Toronto, ON - Vanessa ( "The Math Guru ") Vakharia

A provocative and enlightening read! By skillfully weaving together equity, brain research, and compelling stories, the author clearly demonstrates why this work is essential. This book offers a powerful, research-backed argument for understanding how students’ math identities are shaped—or undermined. A must-read for anyone dedicated to creating meaningful, high-quality math experiences that empower every learner.

Stockbridge, GA - Pamela Seda

A rare book by a true math professional. The content is fresh, friendly, and backed by science. Liesl Mc Conchie reveals more than just how a math
identity is formed, but also how you can shape the identity that students need to succeed. The insights are great, but the real value is jumping into the book and taking action. Dozens of format-easy, practical tools that can be used the very next day. Yes, you can quit struggling and become a math champion. Raise the bar; then start raising your student’s proficiency in math every day!

Newark, DE - Eric Jensen

As I read this book, memories came flooding back about moments that shaped my math identity. This work masterfully takes us through key ideas about how our brains operate to link together in a meaningful way math identity, emotions, thinking and cognition, belonging, and culture. Amid the deep dives into the science, Mc Conchie provides straightforward, meaningful recommendations for classroom practice that will support the development of more confident math learners.

Muncie, IN - Michael D. Steele

Mc Conchie’s expertise in the brain science of learning and math identity is approachable and impactful. She breaks down the science into strategies that can immediately be employed in classrooms to positively affect students’ view of themselves as math capable.

Stoughton, MA - Heidi Sabnani

Mc Conchie’s new book, Building a Positive Math Identity: A Brain Science Approach, offers a transformative lens on how cognition, emotion, and identity intersect to shape our students’ mathematical agency. Grounded in brain science, this book is essential for all educators as we commit to creating equitable and empowering learning environments.

Junction, VT - Brendan Scribner

Mc Conchie has integrated research on identity development in math with the neuroscience of identity. Her approach will support teachers to build classrooms that help students develop the self-efficacy necessary to succeed in mathematics. I recommend this book to anyone seeking actionable steps to take in the classroom to build student confidence in mathematics.

Santa Barbara, CA - Rachel Lambert

If you are seeking to understand how children’s brains work in the learning of mathematics, this is an essential resource. The book will expand your
knowledge of the brain and provide you with practical tips to ensure that children in your environment are academically successful.

Winter Garden, FL - Kristopher Childs

What a gift it is to take something so impactful and complex and make it accessible for so many. This book will open the doors to equitable mathematics for those starting and allow for building upon knowledge for those who have been in the game for a while.

Cincinnati, OH - Crystal Watson