Math Activities Research Articles

A Look at the Processes of Developing Math Activities: Pre-service Primary Teachers

Activities, which are defined as activities that support students’ mathematical learning and increase their levels of mathematic learning, enable the individual to be active by mentally and physically engaging in an action, to establish a cause-effect relationship, and to satisfy his/her curiosity. In this respect, activities have an important effect on the attitude towards mathematics. For this reason, it was aimed to examine the math activity preparation processes of pre-school primary teachers in the current study. To this end, the study was designed in accordance with the case study design, one of the qualitative research methods. In the analysis of the collected data, content analysis was employed. As a result of the study, it was found that the pre-service teachers prepared the activities themselves, they used books and the internet during the development process, and they prepared the activities for the introduction and ending sections of the lesson. In addition, it was observed that while preparing the activity, they considered its suitability for the level of the students and for the purpose of the lesson, they did not take into account individual differences while preparing the activities, and they made use of daily life examples in the activities. The pre-service teachers stated that they had difficulties in preparing activities suitable for the level of the students and stated that they did not consider themselves adequate in preparing activities. Therefore, more emphasis should be placed on improving the skills of developing activities suitable for primary school mathematics lessons in teacher training faculties.

A Study on the educational meaning of math activities connected to masterpiece for young children

본 연구의 목적은 명화를 활용한 유아수학교육의 교육적 의미를 분석하여 유아를 위한 통합교육과정 개발을 위한 기초자료를 제공하는 것이다. 연구 대상은 B시의 A유치원 만 5세 유아 26명이며, 12주에 걸쳐 명화를 활용한 유아수학교육을 실시하였다. 분석 자료는 교사의 일과평가서, 동영상 자료, 연구노트이며, Lincoln & Guba(1985)의 질적 연구방법을 통해 분석하였다. 자료 분석 결과, 첫째 유아들은 수학적 지식에 흥미를 나타냈으며, 둘째 명화를 활용한 수학활동을 놀이로 전환하였다. 셋째 유아들은 명화를 활용한 수학활동을 통해 창의적인 생각을 표현했고, 넷째 명화를 활용한 수학활동을 통해 문제를 해결하였다. 마지막으로 명화를 활용한 수학교육은 미술적 요소와 수학적 요소가 연계되어 다른 학문 영역과의 자연스러운 통합교육이 이루어졌다. 본 연구는 명화를 활용한 수학교육을 통해 통합교육의 방안을 제시하였다는 점에 의의가 있다.

Relations between Subdomains of Home Math Activities and Corresponding Math Skills in 4-Year-Old Children

Most studies on the subject have investigated relations between home math activities and child math skills, without paying much attention to the specific skills that such activities foster and their alignment with children’s math assessments. The present study examined specific relations between subdomains of home math activities and children’s corresponding math skills (e.g., home counting/cardinality activities related to children’s counting/cardinality skills). Participants were 78 mostly middle-income, White parents and their four-year-old children (M age = 53.19 months; 45% girls). Parents completed a 24-item survey about the frequency of home activities supporting five subdomains of math: counting/cardinality, set comparison, number identification, adding/subtracting, and patterning. Children’s skills in these same five subdomains were assessed using the Preschool Early Numeracy Scale (PENS) and the Early Patterning Assessment. Specific relations were observed in set comparison, adding/subtracting, and patterning, such that higher frequency of home activities in these subdomains related to advanced child math skills in the corresponding subdomains. No specific relations were found in counting/cardinality and number identification. Overall home math activities averaged across the five math subdomains positively related to children’s overall math skills. Findings highlight the importance of engagement in specific math activities in the home environment and their significance for corresponding child math development.

Pelatihan Desain Aktivitas Pembelajaran Matematika Digital dengan Menggunakan Desmos

Abstract Desmos is a platform or service that offers a variety of math tools, digital math activities, and curricula to facilitate students’ high-level learning in a joyful way through the web or iOS and Android applications. For teachers, Desmos can be employed to improve the quality of mathematics teaching and learning by facilitating students to perform authentic mathematical activities. Therefore, the present community service activity aims to provide professional development programs for teachers to design digital mathematics learning activities using Desmos. The method used in the present community service was online training using Google Classroom and Zoom. The results of this community service activity indicate that the teachers gave a positive assessment of the training implementation, facilitators, and materials. Also, the teachers acknowledged that the training had provided new knowledge on learning media, sparked the desire of teachers to implement Desmos activities in mathematics teaching and learning, and made the teacher give a positive perception to Desmos. As a follow-up to this training, sustainable community service activities are needed so that the teachers can be more optimal in utilizing and integrating technology in mathematics teaching and learning effectively. Keywords : Desmos; Training; Mathematics Teaching and Learning; Professional Development.

Socioeconomic status, home mathematics environment and math achievement in kindergarten: A mediation analysis.

Growing evidence suggests that parents' practices contribute to their children's cognitive development and that such practices may reflect SES disparities. This study investigated longitudinal interrelations between home mathematics environment (HME), children's math achievement, and two facets of SES (mother's educational attainment and household income-subsidy status) during the first year in kindergarten (n = 500 children; Mage at T1 = 57.3 months, SD = 3.8). Results revealed that these facets of SES operated through different mechanisms in kindergarten-the association between mothers' education and math growth at the end of K1 is fully mediated by HME and children's baseline math knowledge. Furthermore, only home math activities that explicitly supported the understanding of addition and subtraction contributed to children's math growth independently of SES background. The pattern of longitudinal associations suggests that the provision of home math activities may reflect children's mathematical abilities rather than SES disparities.

“Maybe we do more Science than I had Initially Thought”: How Parental Efficacy Affects Preschool-Aged Children’s Science and Math Activities and Media Use

“Maybe we do more Science than I had Initially Thought”: How Parental Efficacy Affects Preschool-Aged Children’s Science and Math Activities and Media Use

Expectancy-value theory & preschool parental involvement in informal STEM learning

Using expectancy-value theory, we explored whether parents' perceived expectancies, value, and costs relate to parent involvement in science and math activities. We also explored whether informal learning varied based on child gender and parent's report of having a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-related career. Specifically, we examined the mediating role of parents' STEM expectancies, value, and cost as well as whether parents held a STEM-related career on the outcome of parental involvement. Our sample consists of 208 parents of 3- to 5-year-olds from mostly middle class families of diverse races/ethnicities. Descriptively, 56% of these parents reported reading everyday with their child, but just 35% reported any daily STEM activities. Controlling for sociodemographic factors, results revealed that only a parent's rating of STEM value, not expectancies or cost, was directly related to parental involvement in science and math. But maternal report of a STEM-related career was indirectly related to parental involvement in STEM through parents' higher self-efficacy for facilitating informal STEM learning. No significant relations were found for child gender. We discuss implications for supporting parents' involvement in early STEM given these findings that parents who feel empowered to do science and math engage their preschooler in informal STEM learning more often.

Къде е грешката в решението ми? ─ разговор пред бялата дъска с Олег Мушкаров

The article is dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Prof. Oleg Mushkarov – a full professor at the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IMI-BAS) and a corresponding member of BAS. Currently, he is the Head of the Analysis, Geometry and Topology Department and Deputy Director of IMI-BAS. His main research interests are in the areas of Complex Analysis, Complex Differential Geometry, and Twistor theory. Another important aspect of Oleg’s professional involvements is his work with mathematically gifted high school students. He himself benefited from the Bulgarian system of identifying mathematical talents at an early age leading to his participation in IMO’1969, Romania. Since then, he has been involved in numerous activities dealing with nurturing and developing young mathematical talents. We present a conversation with him illustrating what his favorite problems are and why. Unlike the traditional situations in which the professor expects the students to come to a solution (possibly with his help), he presents a solution containing mistakes to a well-defined problem and “throw the gauntlet down” for them: Find the mistakes in the solution! We provide a specific example in support of his conviction that such problems are crucial in math education (since everyone, even a professional mathematician, makes errors on an everyday basis). The phases the talk in front of the white board went through were: To feel that something is wrong in his original solution. To discover where the mistake is. Finally, to find a correct solution to the problem. The very process of starting with a wrong idea, becoming aware of the error in reasoning, and finally, succeeding to correct it, which Oleg Mushkarov has kept reproducing when teaching a course on extracurricular math activities to his undergraduate students, reveals his dedication and talents to teaching in addition to his research achievements.

Light-touch design enhancements can boost parent engagement in math activities

Early proficiency in math skills is increasingly being seen as an independent area worthy of early curriculum development and policy investment to reduce socioeconomic disparities in children’s school readiness. However, scalable approaches for parents to support their children’s emerging math skills at home are limited. We examine how behavioral economics (BE)–informed enhancements to an existing play-based school readiness curriculum, Getting Ready for School, can promote parents’ involvement in mathematical activities with their children. The BE-informed enhancements included strategies specifically intended to normalize math and alleviate math anxiety by interweaving fundamental math components such as numbers, patterns, and shapes into daily parent–child interactions. The customized supplemental math content and images––delivered via text messages, along with personalized invitations to Getting Ready for School math workshops––increased family attendance at the math workshops. Math scores were higher among children in the GRS-BE math enhancement group but not statistically distinguishable from the comparison group when controlling for covariates.

Relations between parental math beliefs and emergent math skills among preschoolers from low-income households

ABSTRACT We examined how parent math attitudes and practices relate to emergent math skills in 72 preschoolers from low-income households. Specifically, we investigated parents’ views about the importance of math learning, their confidence in teaching math, their perceptions of child interest in math, and their time spent engaging their child in math activities. For comparison, we also investigated these attitudes and practices surrounding preliteracy development. Parents rated math as significantly less important than reading and perceived their children as being significantly less interested in math than reading. Reports of confidence in teaching math and perceptions of child interest in math were positively related to time spent engaging preschoolers in math activities. In turn, global reports of time spent engaging preschoolers in math activities were positively related to preschoolers’ actual math achievement. These findings strengthen the case that parental beliefs surrounding math predict practices associated with early math development.

Mathematical knowledge for early childhood teaching: A deep insight on how pre-service teachers prepare mathematical activities

Geometry concepts are essential to teaching in early childhood. Engaging early childhood in geometric thinking and spatial reasoning can support their overall mathematical and cognitive development. Preparing the mathematics learning process in early childhood, especially the concept of geometry, requires careful planning by paying attention to various aspects both from the psychological side of students and in terms of mathematics content. Early childhood education teachers must have the skills to plan math activities. The research objective was to see the ability of prospective early childhood education teachers to do math activities. The research method used is phenomenology, which examines the experiences of pre-service early childhood education teachers after attending the “Mathematics and Cognitive Development” lecture. The research results were obtained when designing the learning process of pre-service early childhood education teachers by paying attention to the aspects of providing meaningful experiences through games in introducing the concept of geometry.

The effect of learning realistic mathematics education (RME) Approach to improve students’ mathematical communication

Teaching and learning mathematics have predisposition to be conducted mechanically. Teacher prefers to teach algorithm directly, give examples, and then ask the students to finish the tasks similar to those illustrated by the teacher. The students solve a mathematical problem by memorizing without understanding. As a result, the students only master the simple mathematics concepts, but very weak in communication mathematics. This condition can be solved by implementing Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) approach. In the RME approach, there is no special teaching methods required, but from a risen variety of characteristics. This research concludes the learning approach Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) loaded with math activities (doing mathematics), investigation, discussion, and reflection. The research’s subject was 25 students at grade 6 SD Negeri 1 Kecamatan Bunga Raya Kabupaten Siak Riau, Indonesia. Data were collected through observations, interviews, checklist, and analyzing the students’ works .Learning Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) is not a teacher explaining, giving examples,and then the students imitate the example of the teacher, but requiring students to work in groups, investigate, experiment, discuss and share. Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) approach contributes not only to the cognitive development of students but also the affective and psychomotor of students.

Chicago Area Study 2012 Research Brief #5 Curricular approaches among child care center directors in Chicago west and north side ZIP codes

Introduction The 2012 Chicago Area Study surveyed 229 center directors in 33 ZIP Courricular Approaches among Child Care Center Directors in Chicago West and North Side ZIP The 2012 Chicago Area Study surveyed 229 center directors in 33 ZIP Codes on the West and North sides of Chicago. All centers and preschools that served three and four year olds in these ZIP Codes were eligible, except those located in the public schools. Eligible settings included preschools in churches, private schools, and community organizations as well as preschool programs and full-day care in standalone childcare centers. Fully 70% of eligible directors participated in the study. For simplicity, we refer to all participants as “centers.” We prepared a set of initial research briefs to disseminate basic study findings. Each of these briefs describes a set of data collected in the survey for the sample as a whole and across five types of ZIP Codes. The five ZIP Code types allow us to provide a basic portrait of differences in center characteristics depending on the race-ethnicity and income of the community. The five types of ZIP Codes are: (1) mixed race, low income, (2) majority non-Hispanic Black, low income, (3) majority Hispanic, low income, (4) majority non-Hispanic White, middle-income, and (5) majority non-Hispanic White, high income. The cutoffs between low/middle and between middle/high incomes are $48,500 and $70,000 respectively (about two and three times the federal poverty line for a family of four in 2011). We define a location as being a majority of one race-ethnicity if the ZIP Code is comprised of at least 50% of that racial/ethnic group (see CAS 2012 Research Brief #1 for additional details). This CAS 2012 Research Brief #5 summarizes directors’ responses to questions about their use of child-centered and teacher-directed approaches to learning, their engagement in specific reading and math activities, and their use of particular curricula.

ЗМІСТ І СТРУКТУРА ПСИХОЛОГІЧНОЇ ГОТОВНОСТІ СТАРШОКЛАСНИКІВ ДО РОЗВ'ЯЗУВАННЯ ТВОРЧИХ МАТЕМАТИЧНИХ ЗАДАЧ

Informational technologies, the latest challenges in the field of technical development of society condition irreversible environmental and human changes. In the context of these changes a special place is occupied by those activities that are directly or indirectly related to technical, cybernetic, mathematical activities. This actualizes the manifestation of mathematical abilities, giftedness for math activity in youth, features of creative potential, etc. The purpose of the study is to clarify the content and structure of psychological readiness of high school students for creative mathematical performance. The main content characteristics of the creative mathematical problem as a model for the study of creative mathematical activities are considered in the article. Based on the theory of learning problems, the psychological structure of mathematical task is determined. The structure contains the following components: a) the subject of the task (in its initial state or the ascending subject of the task); b) the model of desired state, ie the requirements (set and required) of the task. The contradiction of the creative mathematical situation first of all characterized by the object and subject of the creative mathematical task. The psychological readiness of high school students for creative mathematical performance is an integrated personality trait aimed at realizing of the cognitive abilities of young people in the process of solving creative mathematical problems. Since the process of creative mathematical thinking (creative mathematical activity) is determined by objective (subject-functional) and subjective-personal (motivation, emotional-volitional, value attitude) components, it is worth saying about subject-functional, subjective-personal types of psychological readiness of high school students to perform mathematical creative activities.

A Study on the effect of math activities connected to famous paintings for young children

A Study on the effect of math activities connected to famous paintings for young children

Role of home mathematics activities and mothers’ maths talk in predicting children’s maths talk and early maths skills

ABSTRACT Children possess different levels of mathematical skills when they begin their formal education. The home environment perhaps holds the key to such disparate maths skills in children’s in early years. The aim of this study is to examine home maths activities and mothers’ maths talk as the predictors of children’s maths talk and early maths skills. The home interactions of 40 preschool children (M = 56.3 months) and their mothers were audio-recorded and their maths talk were analysed. Mothers reported the frequency of their home maths activities while each child’s early maths skills were assessed. Mothers’ maths talk in each maths category correlated with children’s maths talk. Unlike home maths activities, mothers’ maths talk predicted the children’s maths talk. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that home maths activities and mothers’ maths talk were important predictors of children’s early maths skills. Findings confirmed the significance of maternal support, including home activities and maths talk, in children’s maths development.

Children’s Flexible Attention to Numerical and Spatial Magnitudes in Early Childhood

ABSTRACT Young children are sensitive to both numerical and spatial magnitude cues early in development, but many questions remain about how children’s attention to magnitudes relates to their early math achievement. In two studies, we tested three hypotheses related to the flexible attention to magnitudes (FAM) account, which suggests that young children’s flexible attention to both numerical and spatial magnitudes is an important predictor of early math success. In Study 1, we recruited 318 preschool-age children (51.5% female; Mage = 54.7 months, SDage = 4.24 months) and assessed them at two time points on a battery of math, executive function, and language measures, including a novel assessment of FAM ability developed for this study. Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that young children had specific difficulty flexibly shifting between numerical and spatial magnitudes, that their FAM ability was related to both their executive function and math skills controlling for covariates, and finally that their FAM ability at the first time point was predictive of their math achievement growth over time controlling for executive function skills and covariates. In Study 2, we recruited 157 preschool-age children (47.4% female; Mage = 53.36 months, SDage = 7.17 months). We replicated the findings of Study 1 and extended them to account for children’s non-symbolic numerical magnitude discrimination skills. Implications of the results of these studies for early math activities development are discussed.

No Association Between the Home Math Environment and Numerical and Patterning Skills in a Large and Diverse Sample of 5- to 6-year-olds.

Selecting a large and diverse sample of 5–6-year-old preschool children (179 boys and 174 girls; Mage = 70.03 months, SDage = 3.43), we aimed to extend previous findings on variability in children’s home math environment (i.e., home math activities, parental expectations, and attitudes) and its association with children’s mathematical skills. We operationalized mathematics in a broader way than in previous studies, by considering not only children’s numerical skills but also their patterning skills as integral components of early mathematical development. We investigated the effects of children’s gender and socioeconomic status (SES) on their home math environment, examined the associations between children’s home math environment and their mathematical skills, and verified whether these associations were moderated by children’s gender and/or SES. Parents of 353 children completed a home math environment questionnaire and all children completed measures of their numerical (e.g., object counting) and patterning skills (e.g., extending repeating patterns). Results indicated no effect of children’s gender on their home math environment. There was no effect of SES on the performed home math activities, but small SES differences existed in parents’ math-related expectations and their attitudes. We found no evidence for associations between children’s home math environment and their mathematical skills. Furthermore, there were no moderating effects of gender or SES on these associations. One explanation for these findings might relate to the characteristics of the general preschool system in the country of the present study (Belgium). Future studies should consider the effect of the preschool learning environment because it might explain differences between studies and countries with regard to the home math environment and its association with mathematical skills.

Triangulating multi-method assessments of parental support for early math skills.

Past research has examined parental support for math during early childhood using parent-report surveys and observational measures of math talk. However, since most studies only present findings from one of these methods, the construct (parental support for early math) and the method are inextricably linked, and we know little about whether these methods provide similar or unique information about children's exposure to math concepts. This study directly addresses the mono-operation bias operating in past research by collecting and comparing multiple measures of support for number and spatial skills, including math talk during semi-structured observations of parent-child interactions, parent reports on a home math activities questionnaire, and time diaries. Findings from 128 parents of 4-year-old children reveal substantial within-measure variability across all three data sources in the frequency of number and spatial activities and the type and content of parent talk about number and spatial concepts. Convergence in parental math support measures was evident among parent reports from the questionnaire and time diaries, such that scale composites about monthly number activities were related to number activities on the previous work day, and monthly spatial activities were correlated with spatial activities the prior non-work days. However, few parent report measures from the survey or time diary were significantly correlated with observed quantity or type of math talk in the semi-structured observations. Future research implications of these findings are discussed.

Parent–child number application activities predict children’s math trajectories from preschool to primary school.

This study (N = 196) examined the extent to which the frequency of parent–child math activities in preschool was associated with children’s developmental trajectories of math skills from preschool to primary school. Parents reported the frequency of their involvement in a variety of math activities with their preschool children. Children were tested individually on their formal (i.e., math knowledge that involves verbal or written symbolism, such as rote counting and written computation) and informal (i.e., object-based numeration and operations, such as number line concepts and object-based calculation) math skills from preschool to first grade. The results showed that the frequency of parent–child formal math activities, including number skill and book activities, was not associated with children’s formal or informal math trajectories. In contrast, the frequency of informal math activities, including number game and application activities, was associated with formal math skill levels in preschool. More important, parental involvement in application activities in preschool significantly predicted the rate of growth in formal math skills through first grade. This predictive relation persisted after controlling for the other three types of math activities and other child- and family-level variables. The findings underscore the importance of early parent–child application activities in engendering possible long-term effects on children’s math skill development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)