Repeating and growing patterns in early mathematics textbooks

Abstract

ABSTRACT There has been increased attention to the role of explicit pattern tasks in early mathematics learning, with growing recommendations to incorporate more pattern tasks in standards and curricula. One critical piece of this discussion is to consider whether the pattern tasks currently presented in formal curricula materials align with the research on the development of children’s early patterning skills. In the current paper, we quantified the prevalence of patterns and their core features in five early mathematics curricula used in the United States in kindergarten and first grade. Explicit patterns were rare—with one pattern every 20 pages in kindergarten and one pattern every 60 pages in first grade. Most of these explicit pattern tasks included repeating patterns (73%) instead of growing patterns (27%), though this trend was prominent in kindergarten texts and slightly reversed in the first-grade texts. The features of the pattern tasks were often misaligned with research recommendations; most tasks were simplistic, and there was little variability in the complexity of the pattern materials and structures. These findings highlight the need to pinpoint the specific features of pattern tasks that optimize children’s learning opportunities and how best to align these with real-world learning materials.