Enriching mothers’ maths talk with their children through home visits
Keywords:
Mathematics in Early Years, Home Math Environment, Mother’s Math Talk, Home Visits, Home-Based Training ActivitiesAbstract
In this case study, it was examined the nature of mother’s math talk in the conversations with their children and the changes in mothers’ math talk in case of enriching the home math environment through home based training activities. The naturalistic interactions between seven mothers and their preschool-aged children were recorded two times before and after the eight-week training activities. Training activities included the discussion sessions about children’s math development in early years and mothers’ conducting math activities with children in daily life. Findings from this research reveal that mothers’ conversations with their children contain many words related to various mathematical skills. The research has also shown that some kinds of activities support the probability of emerging math talks. Moreover, it was found that the amount and quality of mother’s talk about mathematical concepts and skills increased after the home visits including training activities.
References
Anders, Y., Rossbach, H. G., Weinert, S., Ebert, S., Kuger, S., Lehrl, S., & von Maurice, J. (2012). Home and preschool learning environments and their relations to the development of early numeracy skills. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27(2), 231-244. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2011.08.003
Bailey, D. H., Siegler, R. S., & Geary, D. C. (2014). Early predictors of middle school fraction knowledge. Developmental Science, 17(5), 775-785.
Berkowitz, T., Schaeffer, M. W., Maloney, E. A., Peterson, L., Gregor, C., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2016). Math at home adds up to achievement in school. Science, 350, 196-198. doi: 10.1126/science.aac7427
Blevins”Knabe, B., & Musun”Miller, L. (1996). Number use at home by children and their parents and its relationship to early mathematical performance. Early Development and Parenting: An International Journal of Research and Practice, 5(1), 35-45.
Cannon, J., & Ginsburg, H. P. (2008). “Doing the math”: Maternal beliefs about early mathematics versus language learning. Early Education and Development, 19(2), 238-260. doi: 10.1080/10409280801963913
Duncan, G. J., Dowsett, C. J., Claessens, A., Magnuson, K., Huston, A. C., Klebanov, P., & Sexton, H. (2007). School readiness and later achievement. Developmental Psychology, 43(6), 1428-1446. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1428
Elliott, L., & Bachman, H. J. (2018). How do parents foster young children's math skills?. Child Development Perspectives, 12(1), 16-21. doi: 10.1111/cdep.12249
Evans, M. A., Fox, M., Cremaso, L. & McKinnon, L. (2004). Beginning reading: The views of parents and teachers of young children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(1), 130-141. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.96.1.130
Gunderson, E. A., & Levine, S. C. (2011). Some types of parent number talk count more than others: relations between parents’ input and children’s cardinal”number knowledge. Developmental Science, 14(5), 1021-1032.
Karslı, E., & Allexsaht-Snider, M. (2015). Video destekli anne-baba görüşmeleri: Erken çocukluk döneminde matematik eğitimini keşfetmek için güçlü bir yöntem. Eğitim ve Bilim, 40(179). doi: 10.15390/EB.2015.4227
Kleemans, T., Peeters, M., Segers, E., & Verhoeven, L. (2012). Child and home predictors of early numeracy skills in kindergarten. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27(3), 471-477. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2011.12.004
Klibanoff, R. S., Levine, S. C., Huttenlocher, J., Vasilyeva, M., & Hedges, L. V. (2006). Preschool children's mathematical knowledge: The effect of teacher" math talk". Developmental Psychology, 42(1), 59-69. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.42.1.59
LeFevre, J., Skwarchuk, S.-L., Smith-Chant, B. L., Fast, L., Kamawar, D., & Bisanz, J. (2009). Home numeracy experiences and children’s math performance in the early school years. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 41(2), 55-66. doi: 10.1037/a0014532
Levine, S. C., Ratliff, K. R., Huttenlocher, J., & Cannon, J. (2012). Early puzzle play: a predictor of preschoolers' spatial transformation skill. Developmental Psychology, 48(2), 530-542. doi: 10.1037/a0025913
Napoli, A. R., & Purpura, D. J. (2018). The home literacy and numeracy environment in preschool: Cross-domain relations of parent-child practices and child outcomes. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 166, 581-603. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2017.10.002
Niklas, F., & Schneider, W. (2014). Casting the die before the die is cast: The importance of the home numeracy environment for preschool children. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 29(3), 327-345. doi: 10.1007/s10212-013-0201-6
Niklas, F., & Schneider, W. (2017). Home learning environment and development of child competencies from kindergarten until the end of elementary school. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 49, 263-274. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2017.03.006
Niklas, F., Cohrssen, C., & Tayler, C. (2016). Improving preschoolers’ numerical abilities by enhancing the home numeracy environment. Early Education and Development, 27(3) 1-12. doi: 10.1080/10409289.2015.1076676
Ramani, G. B., Rowe, M. L., Eason, S. H., & Leech, K. A. (2015). Math talk during informal learning activities in Head Start families. Cognitive Development, 35, 15-33. doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2014.11.002
Sarama, J., & Clements, D. H. (2009). Early childhood mathematics education research: Learning trajectories for young children. New York, NY: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203883785
Siegler, R. S., & Ramani, G. B. (2009). Playing linear number board games””but not circular ones””improves low-income preschoolers’ numerical understanding. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(3), 545-560. doi: 10.1037/a0014239
Starkey, P., & Klein, A. (2000). Fostering parental support for children's mathematical development: An intervention with Head Start families. Early Education and Development, 11(5), 659-680. doi: 10.1207/s15566935eed1105_7
Susperreguy, M. I., & Davis-Kean, P. E. (2016). Maternal math talk in the home and math skills in preschool children. Early Education and Development, 27(6), 841-857. doi:10.1080/10409289.2016.1148480
Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2004). Effective Preschool Provision. London: Institute of Education.
Tudge, J. R., & Doucet, F. (2004). Early mathematical experiences: Observing young Black and White children’s everyday activities. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19(1), 21-39. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2004.01.007
Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Westerberg, L., Fleishman, H., Sands, K., & Mischka, M. (2018). Parental guidance of young children’s mathematics and scientific inquiry in games, cooking, and nature activities. International Journal of Early Years Education, 26(4), 369-386. doi: 10.1080/09669760.2018.1481734
Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Boomgarden, E., Finn, L., & Pittard, C. (2012). Parental support of numeracy during a cooking activity with four-year-olds. International Journal of Early Years Education, 20(1), 78-93. doi: 10.1080/09669760.2012.663237
Wheeler, H. & Conner, J. (2010). Parents, Early Years and Learning. London: National Children’s Bureau. Retrieved May 13, 2019 from https://www.ncb.org.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/Early_years_docs/Activities_bookletV3_LoRes.pdf
