Collaborative Frameworks for Early Numeracy: The House that Josh Built

Abstract

One of the dilemmas faced by early childhood professionals concerns the problem of creating intellectual challenge—leading children towards abstract and more conventionally logical ways of perceiving experience and reality—without disturbing their natural curiosities and potential for self-regulation. In an effort to bring together a context highly valued by informal learning environments—play, and content related to an abstract representation system, an early numeracy project was undertaken by a group of pre-service Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) students. The project's main aims were to: a) investigate the potential of open-ended contexts to engage children's interest in, understanding and appreciation of, numeracy; b) focus on the teacher's role as mediator so that predominantly collaborative interactional contexts were created. The project involved each student working with one or two children in K-2 classes twice a week over a period of five weeks. Part of the project's brief was for the students to create a resource kit of objects and materials to stimulate and sustain both mathematical and imaginative involvement (for example: a tool kit, a magic kit, a stationery kit). With the support of video, tape-recorded and survey data, this paper focuses on one child's numeracy as it developed during the project, and on specific aspects of the mediator role implemented by the pre-service students.