Early Childhood Mathematics Research Articles

Enhancing Mathematical Skills of Learners in the Early Childhood Phase Through Play-Based Learning: A Review of Literature

This theoretical article examines the crucial role of play-based learning (PBL) in enhancing the mathematical skills of children in the Early Childhood Phase, referred to as Foundation Phase (Grade R-3) learners, within a South African context. The article argues that the traditional approach to teaching early childhood mathematics, where teachers typically instruct while learners listen and repeat, is often rigid and lacks engagement. For learners to thrive in mathematics and truly comprehend the subject, they need to be actively involved in ‘doing’ mathematics. PBL is an approach to teaching and learning that uses various forms of play as a medium for learning. The objectives of the article are: a) to explore alternative methods for teaching mathematics to learners in the Early Childhood Phase, and b) to highlight the benefits and value of play as a mode for teaching and learning mathematics. As a theoretical paper, it does not include a methodology section; rather, relevant literature was analysed to support and justify the claims and to address the research questions. The study found that PBL can enhance the development of the vestibular system, which can positively impact learners’ cognitive abilities, including mathematical skills. The study is significant for both learners and teachers in the Early Childhood Phase, as it provides an opportunity for teachers to utilise alternative, play-related, and enjoyable methods to teach mathematics. The paper concludes that a child-centred, play-based curriculum encourages and promotes learning in a playful setting through discovery, investigation, problem-solving, imaginative thinking, and creative thinking.

(Re)Conceptualizing STEM Learning and Teaching for Young Children With Disabilities

Centering equity in our work eliminates disparities and promotes the learning and development of ALL children. Although there has been increasing focus on supporting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in early childhood, many children with disabilities still face challenges in accessing early STEM opportunities. In this article, we suggest a strengths-based, system-level, and theory-driven approach to encourage the field to shift away from the practice of “fixing” children when providing STEM learning and teaching for young children with disabilities. At the conclusion of this article, we also offer critical questions for readers to ponder and reflect on their work.

Best of Both Worlds: Developing an Innovative, Integrated, Intelligent, and Interactive System of Technologies Supporting In-Person and Digital Experiences for Early Mathematics

Mathematics is a core component of cognition. Unfortunately, most young children and teachers cannot access research-based early childhood mathematics resources. Building on a quarter-century of research, we are developing and evaluating an innovative, integrated, intelligent, and interactive system of technologies based on empirically validated learning trajectories that provide the best personal and digital tools for assessing and supporting children’s mathematics learning. This article reviews the research that guided us, then describes the design principles of the new project, justifying their selection using theory and research, and shares how the design principles helped address challenges in development. The goal is to provide teachers, caregivers, and children with high-quality resources to support early mathematics learning in the context of meaningful, motivating, challenging, and achievable experiences.

Parents' Involvement in Play Activities for Early Childhood Mathematics

Parents' Involvement in Play Activities for Early Childhood Mathematics

Selection and analysis of videos in the initial training of early childhood mathematics education teachers: the R4 Rubric

Selection and analysis of videos in the initial training of early childhood mathematics education teachers: the R4 Rubric

Remote assessment of the association between early executive function and mathematics skills

AbstractExecutive function (EF) skills are consistently associated with global mathematics assessments. However, less is known about which specific mathematics skills invoke EF in early childhood. We adapted batteries of EF, numerical, and patterning tasks to be conducted via synchronous video conferencing with typically developing 4‐year‐old children (N = 115, 56.6% female, 85.2% White, non‐Hispanic, 7.8% Multiracial, 0.9% Hispanic, 0.9% Black, 1.7% American Indian/Alaska Native, 2.6% Asian and 0.9% missing) from primarily upper middle class households (maternal education range: some college to graduate or professional degree, mode = graduate or professional degree) in the United States. We found feasibility of remote adaptation varied greatly by task. Just over half of enrolled children (57.02%) completed all tasks and there were higher rates of missingness compared to an in‐person sample with a similar age range collected in schools. Nonetheless, working memory predicted various mathematics skills, including patterning, verbal counting, and number comparison, controlling for age and maternal education. Relations between cognitive flexibility and patterning varied across model specifications. Overall, these findings provide insight into the costs and benefits of remotely administered direct assessments of EF and mathematics in early childhood and add to the growing body of literature suggesting working memory plays an important role in several foundational early mathematics skills. Suggestions are offered for remote assessment with preschoolers.Highlights Executive function and mathematics tasks were adapted for remote use and associations among skill sets were examined. Remotely administered data collection sessions had higher rates of missingness than comparable in‐person studies. Findings replicate and extend prior work on the associations between working memory and patterning, verbal counting, and number comparison in a remote setting.

Kindergarten teachers’ perception of early childhood mathematics education in a play-based curriculum: focused on concept mapping

Kindergarten teachers’ perception of early childhood mathematics education in a play-based curriculum: focused on concept mapping

Implementation of Early Childhood Mathematics Learning at PAUDQU Al-Anshor

The introduction of learning mathematics is an important part of early childhood. Mathematics is closely related to human daily life. So that children must be introduced from an early age so that they have adequate mathematical skills in carrying out life in the future. In the field itself, there are many activities to introduce mathematics in early childhood, dominated by calistung activities which are drills and paper pencil tests. The school environment is a place for educators to provide meaningful mathematics learning. Learning mathematics for early childhood should be introduced to various and fun methods. This study uses a type of qualitative research. The study involved 4 teachers and 15 students from groups A and B at PAUDQU Al-Anshor. The results of the study show that the application of early childhood mathematics learning in PAUDQU Al-Anshor does not only use drills and paper pencil tests, but is balanced with various other game activities that can refer to learning mathematics.

Digital and Physical Interactive Learning Environments: Early Childhood Mathematics Teachers’ Beliefs about Technology through Reflective Writing

Digital and Physical Interactive Learning Environments: Early Childhood Mathematics Teachers’ Beliefs about Technology through Reflective Writing

문제중심학습(PBL) 기반 유아수학교육 수업이 예비유아교사의 수학교수효능감, 수학적 태도 및 문제해결능력에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of Problem Based Learning(PBL)-based early childhood mathematics education classes on pre-service early childhood teachers’ mathematics teaching efficacy, mathematical attitude, and problem-solving ability. The study participants were 38 pre-service early childhood teachers attending a 4-year university in G City. The PBL-based early childhood mathematics education class used a combination of lecture-based and problem-based learning methods, and problem-based learning consisted of four PBL problems and was conducted for a total of 9 weeks. The research tools used were mathematics teaching efficacy, mathematical attitude, and problem-solving ability before and after. Data analysis was performed using a paired samples t-test using the SPSS 28 program. As a result of the study, PBL-based early childhood mathematics education classes were found to have a positive impact on improving the mathematics teaching efficacy, mathematical attitude, and problem-solving ability of pre-service early childhood teachers. Through this, the significance of the study is that it presented and verified a PBL-based mathematics teaching model that can be applied to the early childhood mathematics education classes of pre-service early childhood teachers.

The challenges of mathematizing in Swedish early childhood education

Even though there today is a solid view on early childhood mathematics education being of importance, there is a quite diverse view on how this education is to be realized. In many countries, both teaching and play are emphasized in the early childhood education curricula why the question of how to conduct play-oriented mathematics education is relevant. In this study, we empirically elaborate on mathematizing as a possible cross between play and mathematics education. Mathematizing, as developed by the Dutch mathematician Hans Freudenthal, implies seeing the world in the light of mathematics and being able to identify how mathematics contribute to solving everyday problems. In this study we empirically investigate the theoretical construct of mathematizing in a preschool setting, aiming to clarify when and how mathematizing is made possible, and what seem to be the constraints on it. Based on 15 observations of preschool teachers’ attempts to implement play-oriented mathematics education, the presence of a true problem and character of teachers’ questions stand out as the keys to making mathematizing, as a merge of play and teaching, possible.

Integrating Fundamental Movement Skills and Mathematics in Early Childhood: A Pilot Study.

This project involved a co-design process involving researchers and kindergarten teachers to produce learning activities that integrated fundamental movement skills (FMS) and mathematics. We piloted the co-designed activities (i.e., motor-math program) in a local kindergarten and examined the effects on FMS proficiency, mathematics skills, and accrued physical activity (PA). The participants comprised pupils (N = 39) from two matched kindergarten classes, in which we compared the motor-math program with typical mathematics lessons. All participants wore pedometers to measure their number of steps during class, one day per week. FMS proficiency (i.e., locomotor, object control) and mathematics skills (numeracy, geometry, math problem solving) were measured before and after implementation. Significant improvements in locomotor and object control skills were found only in the pilot group (p < 0.001); there were no differences in the changes in mathematics skills between the pilot and comparison groups. During implementation days, the participants in the pilot group accrued significantly greater step counts (p < 0.001) than those in the comparison group. Participating in the motor-math program appears to have benefits associated with improvements in FMS proficiency and accrued PA time, suggesting a promising potential for integrated activities as a means of PA promotion in kindergarten settings. Future work that examines the effects of the integration of movement with mathematics should consider randomization, greater sample size, and a longer intervention period.

Problem-Solving Skills, Memory Power, and Early Childhood Mathematics: Understanding the Significance of the Early Childhood Mathematics in an Individual’s Life

Problem-Solving Skills, Memory Power, and Early Childhood Mathematics: Understanding the Significance of the Early Childhood Mathematics in an Individual’s Life

Early Childhood Mathematics Curriculum in the light of the standards of the National Council of Mathematics Teachers

Early Childhood Mathematics Curriculum in the light of the standards of the National Council of Mathematics Teachers

Can peers help sustain the positive effects of an early childhood mathematics intervention?

Our study assessed whether the peer environment in kindergarten and first grade affected student learning following an early mathematics intervention. We leveraged longitudinal data from a cluster-RCT to examine whether math achievement in kindergarten (n = 1,218) and first grade (n = 1,126) was affected by either the share of high-achieving classmates or the proportion of classroom peers who received a preschool math curriculum intervention. Analyses indicated that exposure to treated peers in first grade, but not kindergarten, was significantly associated with small gains in end-of-year achievement. Some analyses also suggested that average peer math achievement was positively related to children's kindergarten and first-grade achievement across conditions, though these results were less robust. We did not find consistent evidence to suggest that the proportion of treated peers coincided with better teaching practices. Taken together, these findings suggest that classroom peer effects may play only a limited role in sustaining early intervention effects.

신문 기사에 나타난 유아 수학에 대한 인식연구

Objectives In this study, the changes in interest and key words by period related to early childhood mathematics appeared in newspaper articles from January 1, 1990 to December 31, 2020 were examined.&#x0D; Methods For this purpose, 7,789 articles related to early childhood education were collected through ‘Big Kinds (www.bigKinds.or.kr)’. and 230 articles related to mathematics for earlychildhood were analyzed using buzz anal-ysis and topic modeling techniques.&#x0D; Results First, articles on early childhood education increased abou 13.7 times in the 3rd term compared to the 1st term, and articles related to early childhood mathematics increased 24 times in the 3rd term compared to the 1st term. As a result, it was confirmed that social interest in early childhood mathematics increased significantly. Secondly, the results of topic analysis by period: 1st period - ‘Early entry into elementary school’, ‘Establishment of early childhood public education’, 2nd period - ‘Early private education’, ‘Mathematics education approach’, 3rd period - ‘Mathematics and language’ ‘Relationship between mathematics’, ‘Mathematics education program’, and ‘Connectivity between mathematics and gifted education’ were selected as the main themes.&#x0D; Conclusions Through this, it was confirmed that social issues regarding early childhood mathematics changed by time, and there was a slight difference from social interest and research trends in academia.

Intertextuality and the advance of mathematisation in young children’s inscriptions

ABSTRACT A fundamental question in early childhood mathematics concerns the relationship between young children’s own informal signs and the formal abstract symbolic language of mathematics. This study presents research investigating the genesis of mathematical semiosis from a Vygotskian cultural-historical (social-semiotic) perspective. In this study we look at the premature stages of dealing with quantity and their relationships. Our aim is to reveal the interweaving of young children’s sign-use and to consider the role of intertextuality in mathematisation. Longitudinal, ethnographic data were gathered from case studies of seven children aged 3–4 years in an inner-city nursery school in England, documenting observations of their spontaneous pretend play. The data are interrogated through interpretive analysis and show that some graphical signs moved between individuals’ texts, also borrowed from others including the teacher, and woven together. Children’s progressive understandings of mathematical sign-use appear to be attained in part through intertextual exchanges in social and culturally meaningful contexts, such as pretend play.

Research and Pedagogies for Early Math

The increasing interest in early childhood mathematics education for decades has increased the need for empirically supported pedagogical strategies. However, there is little agreement on how early math might best be taught. We draw from the empirical literature to paint a picture of research-based and research-validated pedagogical approaches and strategies for teaching early math. Most approaches share core characteristics, including concern for children’s interests and engagement and for working on content matched to children’s level of thinking. Learning trajectories are an especially useful organizing structure because they combine and integrate educational goals, development of children’s thinking, and empirically supported pedagogical strategies. Therefore, they help teachers interpret what the child is doing, thinking, and constructing, and offer instructional activities that extend children’s mathematical thinking. Simultaneously, teachers can see instructional strategies from the child’s perspective, offering meaningful and joyful opportunities to engage in learning.

International comparisons of the home mathematics environment and relations with children's mathematical achievement.

Home mathematics environment (HME) research has focused on parent-child interactions surrounding numerical activities as measured by the frequency of engaging in such activities. However, HME survey questions have been developed from limited perspectives (e.g., Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27, 2012, 231; Journal of Social Issues, 64, 2008, 95; Early childhood mathematics education research: Learning trajectories for young children, Routledge, New York, 2009), by researchers from a small subset of countries (15; Psychological Bulletin, 147, 2020, 565), which may skew our interpretations. This study broadened international representation by leveraging secondary data from the 2019 TIMSS to examine the variation of the frequency and reliability of the HME scale and its relation to children's mathematical achievement. Across 54 countries, 231,138 parents and children (Mage = 10.22 years; 51% male) participated in the larger study. Parents completed a retrospective home environment survey and children were assessed on mathematics skills. Basic frequency descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients, and Pearson's r correlation coefficients were used to assess variability across countries. Findings suggested that families in certain countries engaged in home mathematics activities more frequently than families in other countries; however, the HME scale demonstrated acceptable internal consistency across families in all countries (M α = .79; range = [.73, .89]). Further, the average relation between HME and mathematical achievement was r = .15 with a range between r = .02 to r = .41. Our results indicate substantial variation across countries in the HME-mathematical achievement association. These findings underscore the importance of international representation in advancing research on the diversity of a child's home environment.

Opportunities to improve student mathematics achievement and outcomes: Building student–teacher relationships and the integration of inclusive and equity‐minded teaching practices

Opportunities to improve student mathematics achievement and outcomes: Building student–teacher relationships and the integration of inclusive and equity‐minded teaching practices