Four-year olds’ understanding of repeating and growing patterns and its association with early numerical ability

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to address two gaps in research on early mathematical patterning, namely the lack of attention (1) to growing patterns and (2) to the association between different aspects of patterning and numerical ability. Participants were 400 four-year olds from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. Children’s patterning and numerical ability were assessed by means of individual tasks. The patterning tasks assessed their performance on three patterning activities (i.e., extending, translating, and identifying the pattern’s structure) for two types of patterns (i.e., repeating and growing). The numerical measure included a set of eight well-known numerical tasks. We additionally controlled for individual differences in spatial ability and visuospatial working memory. Results indicated an effect of both activity and patterning type on children’s patterning performance, as well as an interaction between both. Furthermore, children’s performance on four out of six patterning tasks uniquely contributed to their numerical ability above age, spatial ability, and visuospatial working memory. These findings support the importance of specific pattern types and patterning activities in the early stage of children’s mathematical development and give directions for further educational practices.