Early Math Matters!

October 14, 2010Laurie Sjolund

Introductions• Who we are

• What we do

•What kind of mathematician

are you?

Goals• Class Goals

Understand how young children learn and think about mathematics

Develop a basic understanding of key mathematical concepts

Ability to assess children’s mathematical knowledge and plan activities accordingly

Develop an evidence-based understanding of effective and appropriate teaching methods and curricula

• Your goals?

Promoting Good Beginnings

“High-quality, challenging and accessible mathematics education for three to six-year old children is a vital foundation for future mathematics learning.”

“Although essential for children’s intellectual development generally and for mathematics learning in particular, play is not enough”

-Ginsburg, Lee, Boyd (2008)

~NCTM/NAEYC position statement

Overview of Early Math Matters• Research - Why Early Math?

• Standards - What do children need to know and be able to do?

• Assessment - How wlll we know if they know it?

• Activities - What will we do?

• Materials - What will we use?

• Short Term Outcomes

• Long Term Outcomes

Guiding PrinciplesFor Early Math Learning

• Children are active learners

• Each child learns in unique ways

• Learning is most meaningful when it is integrated across developmental domains

• Learning is continuous and sequential

• Development and learning are rooted in culture and supported by family

• Knowledge of what young children can do and learn is essential to support their growth

• Young children have the interest and ability to engage in significant mathematical thinking and learning.

Guiding PrinciplesOverview: Principles for School

Mathematics(from The National Council on Teachers of Mathematics: Principles and

Standards for School Mathematics)

* Equity

* Curriculum

* Teaching

* Learning

* Assessment

* Technology

What matters most?• Strong foundational cognitive skills

• Social and emotional resilience

• Patterns of engagement in school and in learning

Research• Why now?

• Know more about children’s brain development

• More children in formal environments• Flat 4th grade math scores • US is consistently behind global

counterparts K-4th• Achievement Gaps (income, race, maternal

education)• Changes in technology• Industry demands

Research• Read article

• Talk with table members about key ideas

• Report back to large group

Research• Children understand complex

mathematical concepts, long before they have the language to show us.

• Math is more sequential than other areas of cognitive development

• Early math skills are an important predictor of later achievement Not just math achievement but literacy

too. Early literacy skills only predict later

literacy skills

Research - Problems• Early Learning Professionals and parents

have little to no formal math training

• Confidence in teaching math is low.

• Time spent on math is low

• What little time is spent on math, not the most useful.

• Mile wide and inch deep

Math Wars• Find the area of your table using the

materials provided

Math Wars• Camp #1-Behavioralists-Math is for

knowing• Memorize• Know the basic facts

• Camp #2-Constructivists-math is for understanding

• conceptualize (scaffold learning)• deeper understanding of mathematics

Research - What works?• Language adults use when child is engaged in

constructive play

• Balance between child initiated and adult initiated activities

• Balance between formal and informal experiences

• Taking advantage of teachable moments

• Taking advantage of children’s natural interests

• Connect math moments across and within other domains of development

• Deep and sustained interaction with key mathematical ideas

• Coherent and compatible curriculum with known relationships and sequences of mathematical ideas

Summary of changes in Instructional Practice in PreK-4 MathematicsIncreased attention to:

• Use of manipulative materials

• Cooperative work

• Discussion of mathematics

• Questioning

• Justification of thinking

• Writing about mathematics

• Problem-solving approach to instruction

• Content integration

• Use of calculators and computers

Decreased attention to:

• Rote practice

• Rote memorization of rules

• One answer and one method

• Use of WORKSHEETS

• Written practice

• Teaching by telling

Curriculum• Definition: Knowledge and skills to be acquired in a

program as well as plans for experiences through which learning takes place (Developmentally Appropriate Practice, 2008)

• More than a collection of activities, must be:• Coherent• Focused on implementing math• Well articulated across ages and stages of

development

• What does this look like in a • Primary classroom?• Preschool classroom?• Family home childcare?• Home?

Emergent Mathematicians• Naturally acquire some mathematical

concepts without direct teaching

• Follow a generally standard sequence of gradual mathematical development

• Construct mathematical concepts from a very early age

Why?• “I sat at the little Kindergarten tabletop…

and played with the cube, the sphere, and the triangle…I soon became susceptible to constructive patterns evolving in everything I saw. I learned to ‘see’ and when I did, I did not care to draw casual incidentals of nature, I wanted to design.”

-Frank Lloyd Wright (1957)

Pattern Block Activity

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25National Research Council: Adding it Up, 2001

Intertwined Strands of ProficiencyIntertwined Strands of Proficiency

Standards for Preschool?

• Good?

• Bad?

• Push Down?

• Your thoughts?

• Article

26

Alignment - What?

• National Math Standards

• NCTM’s curriculum focal points

• WA State Early Learning and Development Benchmarks

• WA State K-8 Math Standards

• READY! For Kindergarten Targets

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Alignment - Why?

• Standards help parents/teachers/caregivers understand what children can do and can learn

• Help us set appropriate expectations for children

• Give us a framework for development and learning so we can provide appropriate experiences for children

• Mathematical potential of all students

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Alignment - Math’s Big Ideas

• Number Sense

• Operations

• Patterns and Relationships

• Measurement

• Data Collection

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Alignment - Numbers

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Table Activity

• Part 1 - Look at sample of standards

• Part 2 - Find connections

• Part 3 - What is useful in that particular document?

• Be ready to report to group.

Guiding Questions

• What did you learn this evening?

• What do you need to apply this learning?

• What barriers do you face in building children’s foundation for success?

• What can WE (all of us) do next?

Now what?

• Inventory• What do we have?• Think about what would be useful

Now what?

• Pattern Blocks• Take an appropriate kit• For December…

• Use pattern blocks with your children• Observe how they use them independently• Guide them to play with them

constructively• Be creative!!• Have fun!!• Be prepared to report back in December!!

Thank you for coming!!