Education, Mathematics, and Reading Development Flashcards
are mathematics and counting universal?
no - Piraha do not have number words, only words for a few and a lot, and have difficulty matching exact quantities
when do children understand basic principles of maths?
Children realise from very early on that adding and taking away objects modify quantities.
But this does not mean that they fully understand addition and subtraction.
Piaget - procedural, conceptual and utilisation knowledge
Procedural knowledge: the ability to carry out a sequence of actions to solve a problem.
Conceptual knowledge: the ability to understand the principles that underpin the problem.
Utilisation knowledge: the ability to know when to apply particular procedures.
what is procedural understanding of mathematical operations
E.g. 2 + 2 = 4
Automatic, solution retrieved from memory
Not necessarily indicative of understanding
what is conceptual understanding of mathematical operations
E.g. 74 + 66 = ___
Requires application of additive principles
Can be indicative of understanding
what are the precursors to maths
Quantity precursors:
- Quantity comparison
- Counting
- Number identification
and more…
Domain-general precursors:
- Visuo-spatial skills
- Language skills
working memory and mathematics ability
several studies indicate that working memory and other executive functions significantly predict later mathematics ability
what are the problems with piagetian view
performance does not just depend on cognitive difficulty of the task
other important factors:
- social context
- how the problem is presented
do concrete symbols support learning
often they do not
there is evidence for a relationship between language proficiency and mathematical ability
what is the difference between language and literacy
language:
- All typically developing children will acquire language.
- Requires relatively minimal support.
- Humans are biologically predisposed to learn language.
literacy:
- Specialised skill.
- Not all cultures possess writing systems.
- Relatively recent development in human history.
- Requires instruction, specific exposure, and practice.
literacy depends on oral language, but it is not an inevitable outcome of it
what does reading involve
Decoding the visual forms of the target writing system into word meanings.
what are the two types of writing systems
Logographic writing systems
Phonological writing systems (phoneme-grapheme correspondence -> generative code)
what skills to look for in a child who is ready to learn to read
Phonological awareness
Alphabet knowledge
Print conventions
Building a vocabulary
Listening comprehension
the ability to identify the
phonemes and syllables in spoken words.
Tap out syllables
Break a syllable down
Preschoolers struggle with these abilities; most 6yo succeed
phonological awareness correlates with later reading achievement
Positive correlation between early mastery of letter names (i.e. at pre-school age) and reading achievement
what are print conventions
Knowing how to hold a book.
Being able to identify text.
Identifying environmental print.
Family literacy practices.
why is there a strong correlation between vocab size and reading ability
As vocabulary size increases, phonological systems improve.
Larger vocabulary makes it easier for children to grasp the content of what they read.
Reading helps increase vocabulary.
Reading and word learning both rely on similar skills.
the reading process - decoding and comprehension
decoding: translating printed symbols into words.
comprehension: deriving meaning from language
reading comprehension = decoding x language comprehension
word identification: Phonological recoding
the visual form is decoded into a phonological form, and the meaning is accessed on the basis of this
word identification: Visually-based retrieval
word meaning is accessed directly from the visual form (sight vocab)
word identification
initially primarily rely on phonological recoding
with more practice, they start to rely on visually based retrieval
From early on, children choose adaptively between these two strategies, choosing the fastest approach that is likely to be correct.
Lessons which emphasize phonological recoding strategies lead to children being able to identify words more quickly and more accurately
what are the two methods to reading
phonics method and whole language approach
what is the phonics method
focuses on the decoding process and teaching children letter sound correspondence
what is the whole language approach
focuses on the larger experience of reading, encourages recognition of whole words
what influences a child’s reading comprehension
Amount of reading they do.
Amount their parents talk to them (particularly abstract language).
Amount parents read to them.
what do children do that indicates they understand that words require separate symbols, and that meaning is reflected in print?
preschoolers make marks that vaguely look like conventional letters, and are arranged in a linear horizontal sequence
