Research Paper
If teachers were provided with the proper resources and professional development that is encouraging and informational, along with the necessary materials to teach math, then there is a big possibility for growth. NANCY Position Statement Review The NCSC and NANCY position statement describes what teachers and other professionals should do with their children and they also mention what institutions, program developers and policy makers should do to help teachers achieve growth in mathematical development.
It provides ten recommendations to teachers and professionals that would help in achieving gig-quality mathematics education for 3-to-6 year old children. The first two recommendations focus more on the child and their development, culture, family, background and language. NANCY indicates that “young children show a natural interest in and enjoyment of mathematics. Research evidence indicates that long before entering school children spontaneously explore and use mathematics… ND their mathematical knowledge can be quite complex and sophisticated (NANCY 4). ” Since children already have this interest, it is important to keep their interest piqued by continuing to introduce them to mathematics with things they are familiar with. Each child learns differently therefore it is important to recognize and build on their individual experiences.
To have an effective mathematics curriculum “teachers need broad knowledge of children’s cognitive development as well as their acquisition of particular mathematical skills and concepts (NANCY 5). ” A teacher needs to know their children’s development in order to provide a curriculum that will assist with their growth and allow them to understand the concepts being taught. It is also recommended that teachers have planned activities that intentionally provide learning experiences that help build children’s understanding over time.
In order to have a good awareness of mathematics in early education, NANCY states that it is important to raise awareness of the importance of math, let others know about approaches to mathematical teaching and learning and to develop essential resources to support high-quality mathematical experiences for all young children. Early Math: It’s More than Numbers Review The article titled “Early Math: It’s More than Numbers” provides strategies that help support Menaces Math position statement.
Not only does this article help support NANCY, it also provides teachers with great ideas on how to incorporate math lessons throughout the day. The author states that math learning can be promoted in five key areas: classification, serration, number, space, and time. Based on these five key areas, we are provided with ideas on how to introduce math in our learning environment, our daily routine and in our interactions with the child. For example, serration can be incorporated in our learning environment by providing “sets of materials in different sizes (Epstein 54),” such as measuring spoons.
During our daily routine, we can encourage children to “draw or make things that involve series and patterns, for example, string a bead necklace (Epstein 54). ” While interacting with the children, the author indicates that we can “Repeat children’s comments…. Extend children’s comments (Epstein 54). ” We repeat in order to show them about the comparisons they made and we extend their comments to further their learning. Examples such as these were provided for each of the five key areas along with the importance of staff development.
We may be afraid to teach math to young children because of what it entails but when e realize that many operations are things we do every day, it makes it easier to teach it to them. It is also important to provide resources that will help make math a part of our classroom. Discussion “At one time, educators thought that certain teaching strategies like asking questions or having children watch an adult model, fit every teaching situation no matter what they wanted children to learn.
Today, we realize that instruction can be more or less appropriate depending on the goals for the activity and individual children’s needs (Steeling p. 56). ” I think it is important to remember this when we are teaching or introducing math to our children. When teach counting to my students, I keep in mind the talkers and the non-talkers. Did a lesson on counting where the children had to count how many stamps would go on an envelope. I had some children who were able to count to five on their own and I had others who did not know how to begin counting.
I was able to develop a plan where I encouraged the children who counted to five to count past five and where I assisted the children who did not know where to begin by telling them that the first number is one and seeing if they could go from there. Something found interesting was that some children enter preschool having been exposed to mathematics. After I read the article, I went to work the next day and noticed a child drawing in Art. I sat with the child and asked what they were drawing. She said to me: “l have two brothers. One, two. Nun grandee, nun Beebe. I heard this and it took my mind back to the article and how this was a great example Of children already being familiar with math. What made it more interesting was that the child drew one big circle and one little circle to represent her two brothers. She was aware of what big and little was and new what it looked like on paper. To me, teaching the basics of math (numbers and shapes) seemed easy; it is the compare/contrast, pattern, and classification that are a bit challenging. Whenever sit down to plan my lessons, I think of each child and how I can make learning certain math skills easy and fun for them.
In my opinion, if children are having fun learning something new, then it is something they will retain. In reading the Math article, I noticed that many of the examples they provided are ones that I use in my classroom every day. I have children pass out the napkins and cups ruing lunch and snack time and this helps them not only with counting but with one-to-one correspondence as well. Have timers in my classroom that help children know when they begin and end an activity and for the most part, they understand the concept of it.
When it is time to clean-up, I flicker the lights and tell the kids “Hand up” and immediately they call out “Clean-up” and proceed to clean up. They understand that it is time to stop play and proceed to the next part of our day. Conclusion In conclusion, it is important for early childhood educators to remember that teaching math should be fun and educational at the same time. We have to remember to bring in experiences that are familiar to the children in order to make their learning process more eventful. As the NANCY article indicated, most children come into preschool having been introduced to math, they just don’t know it yet.
Not only do we need to make it interesting for children, we also need to be provided with the proper resources, materials and professional development that will help us achieve this. The math article “Early Math: Its More than Numbers” is a great resource to keep in hand. It provides great examples on how to introduce different types of math in our environment, in our routine and in our interactions with the children. These are the types of resources that would help teachers keep in mind different activities that occur in our classroom every day that can help initiate a conversation about math.
