The Relationship between Young Children's Analogical Reasoning and Mathematical Learning

Abstract

In this investigation, we examined the association between young children's analogical reasoning ability and their mathematical learning. Participants were 26 four- and five-year-olds enrolled in a college-operated laboratory school in the southeastern United States. We assessed analogy reasoning by means of the Test of Analogical Reasoning in Children, and mathematical learning via the logical-mathematic component of the Georgia Kindergarten Assessment Program. Children's non-verbal behaviours and their private and social speech were also recorded and categorised. Eight and 14 months after the initial assessments, we conducted follow-up testings of 10 of the original participants. Findings showed that analogical reasoning was significantly related to mathematical learning. Also, children's scores on the measure of mathematical learning, especially on the patterning subtest, significantly predicted their performance on the analogical reasoning task. The private and social speech of the more and less proficient reasoners varied markedly. Furthermore, significant changes in the children's analogical and mathematical test scores occurred between the first and second testings.