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Pedagogical strategies, approaches and methodologies to support numeracy in early childhood A review of the literature

O'Neill, Sandra orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-4271-8163, Gillic, Córa orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-2976-1893 and Kingston, Mary orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-0817-6230 (2023) Pedagogical strategies, approaches and methodologies to support numeracy in early childhood A review of the literature. Project Report. Department of Education via Zenodo.

Abstract
● The everyday nature of mathematics should guide learning in ECEC settings. As young children explore and make sense of the world around them, they discover mathematical concepts in meaningful and developmentally appropriate ways. ● Play is a central learning process for young children. Thus, it is important that early childhood educators recognise the potential for mathematical ideas to be explored in play situations and that they engage with and extend children’s understanding and learning during play activities. Intentional teaching should also be utilised to provide children with varied early numeracy experiences such as opportunities to engage in real-world problem-solving based on active and hands-on experiences. ● The role of the adult in the ECEC setting is fundamental in early mathematics learning. Early childhood educators require knowledge of children’s mathematical development and an understanding of how to communicate mathematical ideas in a relevant and meaningful way to young children (Ginsburg, 2016). The maths content knowledge (MCK) of the educator is also central to mathematics teaching and learning as it influences the educator’s identification of a child’s current level of understanding and supports them in devising an appropriate pathway for future learning. MCK also impacts how an educator responds to or enhances children’s play in a mathematical way. ● Educators in ECEC require access to professional development (PD) in mathematics teaching and learning to enhance their mathematical knowledge. In particular, training in the use of learning trajectories in mathematics may support educators in noticing, interpreting and enhancing young children’s mathematical ideas. ● Engaging young children in mathematical talk and discussion promotes mathematical thinking and provides children with opportunities to construct and communicate their mathematical reasoning. It may also support children in developing a range of higherorder thinking skills such as justifying and analysing. ● The use of children’s literature provides young children with opportunities to engage with mathematical ideas and may have a positive impact on children’s mathematical discourse and achievement. ● Babies and toddlers’ innate mathematical abilities should be informally developed through daily experiences, interactions, and routines. ● Numeracy early interventions of shorter duration are more effective (Nelson & McMaster, 2018; Charitaki et al., 2021), but for those learning English as an additional language, longer interventions show higher effect sizes (Arizmendi et al., 2021). One-to-one instruction is beneficial for children including those with MD and learning English as a second language (Wang et al., 2016 & Arizmendi et al. 2021).
Metadata
Item Type:Monograph (Project Report)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:Early Childhood Education; Early Numeracy; Early Mathematics Education
Subjects:Social Sciences > Education
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education > School of Language, Literacy, & Early Childhood Education
DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education > School of STEM Education, Innovation, & Global Studies
Research Institutes and Centres > Research Centre in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education (CASTel)
Publisher:Department of Education via Zenodo
Official URL:https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7250209
Copyright Information:© 2023 Department of Education.
Funders:Department of Education
ID Code:29185
Deposited On:10 Nov 2023 10:57 by Córa Gillic . Last Modified 10 Nov 2023 11:07
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