Bringing Maths into the Home

Understanding the Maths Learner

Progression of Mathematical Learning

Number sense—or a child’s “fluidity and flexibility with numbers” (Gersten & Chard, 2001)—is a critical early learning skill that should be developed during the early years. Number sense encourages children early on to think flexibly about numbers and promotes confidence in mathematical thinking. Number sense is a strong predictor of kindergarten readiness, predictive of later student achievement, and a necessary building block for knowledge in other areas (Duncan et al., 2007; Duncan & Magnuson, 2011; Nguyen et al., 2016). Effective counting skills are a critical first step in the number sense trajectory.

The idea of counting seems like such a simple concept, but when broken down, there are actually several counting principles that progressively build toward a child being able to effectively count a group of objects. These counting principles are part of a clear developmental progression—or learning trajectory—that can be a valuable road map for teachers when used to plan instruction based on each child’s individual needs.

The Progression of Early Number & Counting

A visual of the progression of skills needed to develop great number sense is best described in this video clip.

What astounds me is the levels of understanding around numbers before we even get to teaching computation strategies. I believe we are too quick to jump into the "how-to" of maths that require traditional algorithms rather than developing computation strategies that assist in the development of number sense.

There are different progressions of learning in Maths for each sub-strand in Number and Algebra. If you are interested in watching these, which I highly recommend, click on the links.

Teachers like to see conceptual understanding in number rather than seeing a child present traditional algorithms - this is what some parents understand as good maths. Good maths is the ability to manipulate numbers in a variety of ways, see the connection between different concepts, and apply them in different situations. In the Maths@Home Episode this week I talk about all of this and have attached the progression of number sense.

Maths@Home YouTube Channel

Maths@Home Episode 4 - Progression of Skills