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Playful Math InstructionDeborah Stipek

Early Childhood Investigations

November 1, 2017

Early Math Matters

1. Brain development before children begin school is rapid and provides the foundation for future learning.

2. The achievement gap in math exists before children enter kindergarten.

3. The math skills children enter kindergarten with are highly predictive of later achievement.

4. Kindergarten standards have risen.

5. Young children can and love to do math activities.

-8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Birth (Months) (Years)

Sensory Pathways(Vision, Hearing)

LanguageHigher Cognitive Function

Source: C. Nelson (2000)

Growth in BrainDevelopment

https://dreme.stanford.edu

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Weintraub, et al., (2011)

Birth

Age (Years)

50 70 80

Skill

pro

fici

ency

3 5 15 25 3010

Brain Development for Executive Functions

https://dreme.stanford.edu

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Me

an

Pe

rce

nt C

orr

ect

Math Knowledge in American 4-yr-olds

Low Income

Middle Income

https://dreme.stanford.edu

38

79

123

144

157

25

61

98

123

140

17

46

78

101

120

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Fall 1998,Kindergarten

Spring 2000,grade 1

Spring 2002,grade 3

Spring 2004,grade 5

Spring 2007,grade 8

Math Achievement Scores of Kindergartners FollowedThrough Grade 8, by Kindergarten Score Quartile

Highest quartile

Middle two quartiles

Lowest quartile

https://dreme.stanford.edu

10/29/2017

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Effect of Persistent vs. No Problems at Ages 6, 8, and 10 on High School Completion and College Attendance

Persistent

Problems in…

High School

Completion

College

Attendance

Reading -.05 -.06

Math -.13* -.29**

Antisocial Behavior -.10*** -.24*

https://dreme.stanford.edu

Common Core Kindergarten Standards

• Count to 100 by ones and by tens

• For any number from 1 to 9, find the number that makes 10 when added to the given number

• Compose and decompose numbers from 11 to 19 into ten ones and ones

• Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight.

• Compose simple shapes to form larger shapes.

• Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has "more of"/"less of" the attribute, and describe the difference.

POLL

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Kindergarten is the New First Grade

https://dreme.stanford.edu

But not much Math Happening in Preschools

Proportion of Time Spent in Preschool Content Areas

Meal/Nap/Out/Transition 60%

Other (e.g. TV)< 1%

Morning Routine< 1%

Mixed Content

20% Art1%

Music and/orMovement 3%

Social Studies1%

Science1%

Math3%

Reading2%

Code-Based Skills 2%

Literacy7%

Reading Readiness

11%

POLL

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Math activities are age-appropriate for preschoolers.

No Exp/No Edu

2+ Yrs Exp/4 Yrs ECEEdu

2+ Yrs Exp/4+ Yrs Edu& Math Ed Course

Agree

Agree Strongly

Platas, 2011

Agree Somewhat

https://dreme.stanford.edu

POLL

Complaints about Standards

1. Focus attention on basic academic skills and away from other important dimensions of development

2. Encourage developmentally inappropriate teaching

3. Undermine the joy of learning

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No Standards?

• If we don’t know our destination, how do we know how to get there?

– How do we determine whether children are making progress?

Standards can be useful if they…

• guide but don’t dictate instruction– Standards provide the long-term goals; the short-term

goals (in route) are based on what children know and understand

• inform assessments used to track children’s progress

• inform choice of curriculum used to provide scope and sequence for learning – Rebel against strict pacing!!

But what about “teaching”?

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“Teaching” has a bad rap

▪ associated with teacher-directed, didactic instruction—flash cards and worksheets

▪ believed to interfere with children’s natural curiosity and joy of learning

▪ and competes with:

▪ time for play

▪ opportunities to develop social-emotional skills

Theories of Teaching

Child-Centered (constructivist)

Children discover through direct experience

Children choose

Process stressed

Play

Teacher-Directed(learning theory)

Children learn what teachers teach

Teachers choose

Performance stressed

Work

POLL

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What is not included

• Rote counting

• Calendar

• Worksheets

• Macaroni math

Effective, Playful Math Instruction

• Teacher plans activities with clear learning goals

• Identifies, designs, and prepares materials

• Provides direction

• Engages children in conversation

• Assesses learning

• Designs individual & group interventions

Teacher Verbal Behavior(talk by teacher during the 3.25 hour learning opportunity)

Farran, ECMC

Listening9%

Not Talking or Listening20%

To Child35%

To Small Group

7%

To Whole Group25%

To Self1%

To Parent/External Adult1%

To Teacher2%

Talking71%

All Classrooms: Teacher Talking and to Whom

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Child Verbal Behavior(Talk by children during the 3.25 hour learning opportunity)

Farran, ECMC

Not Talking or Listening41%

Listening34%

Fuss/Cry1%

To Teacher4%

To Child9%

To Small Group1%

To Whole Group4%

To Self6%

Talking24%

All Classrooms: Children Talking and to Whom

• http://pbskids.org/lab/activity/shoesorting/

Other Activities

Letters in name

• Shape hunt

Map of classroom

Store

S A AR H

T I M

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Making Counting Fun

Using Picture Books

Describe, Draw, Describe

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Games

Teachable Moments

• Take advantage

• But not sufficient

– depends too much on chance

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To learn more about our research and development in early math, visit our website at

https://dreme.stanford.edu

To access our free early math resources for teacher educators (videos, articles, activities), visit DREME TE at

http://prek-math-te.stanford.edu