Abstract
This chapter discusses the possibility of incorporating the framework of mathematical, social, and personal values into a number activity, following the approach shown in Shimada and Baba (Transformation of students’ values in the process of solving socially open-ended problems. In: Beswick K, Muir T, Wells J (eds) Proceedings of 39th psychology of mathematics education conference, vol 4. PME, Hobart, Australia, pp. 161–168, 2015). The qualitative analysis showed that kindergarten children regarded equality and fairness as very important among their personal and social values when distributing sweet potatoes to two different kinds of animals in an imaginary restaurant. Further, these social and personal values became a driving force toward mathematical values: children verbally expressed their logical opinions related to different quantities (the size of animals’ mouths), an ability closely linked with the beginning of rationality in mathematical values. Therefore, social and personal values can serve as a catalyst for kindergarteners to organically develop mathematical values.
Highlights
In Japanese public kindergartens, which are pre-schools for children aged three to six, cultivating a foundation for lifelong character-building through play is viewed as crucial (Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology [MEXT] 2008, p. 1)
(1) Setting a problem within the activity: Sweet potatoes have long been popular in Japanese agriculture and related to cultural life in Japan since the Edo period (B.C. 1600) (Ito 2010)
Children plant and harvest them with teachers’ support for educational purposes as a seasonal and special activity. They plant sweet potatoes around May
Summary
In Japanese public kindergartens, which are pre-schools for children aged three to six, cultivating a foundation for lifelong character-building through play is viewed as crucial (Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology [MEXT] 2008, p. 1). In Japanese public kindergartens, which are pre-schools for children aged three to six, cultivating a foundation for lifelong character-building through play is viewed as crucial Teaching and learning in Japanese public kindergartens are not subject-based, but play-based, connecting to children’s daily life to foster their mental and physical development. N. Nakawa in the national Course of Study for Kindergarten: health, human relationships, environment, languages, and expression. Nakawa in the national Course of Study for Kindergarten: health, human relationships, environment, languages, and expression These are said to be essential for children’s cognitive and physical development at pre-primary level (MEXT 2008, 2017b). The author and the research team involved in this developmental project for early mathematics, surmised that teaching mathematics including different values would fit into kindergarten education if it included an element of values education
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