Mathematical Development in Early Years - Case Study Example

Mathematical Development in Early Years Student Name Institution Course Date Mathematical Development in Early Years Mathematical Development in Early Years Maymay is a child aged 2 years where the mathematical activitie4s were observed within a home environmental setting. Therefore in this case Maymay forms the child focus and the centre of analysis of the learning, literacy and mathematical activities within the home setting. Family plays an important role in the learning process. Maymay as a Chinese immigrant need to engage in a lot of learning that will facilitate the communication process. The only companion of the immigrant family involves the child’s grandmother who has come to visit for a period of six months. During the early years of development it is believed that a child should not be limited in terms of the accessibility of the mathematical concepts. The observations made revealed the fact that the child’s environment and the type of company greatly influenced the gain of mathematical concepts. This is due to the fact that there was lack of the basic interaction with other children of her age in terms of playing with basic shapes and objects for the purpose of grasping mathematical concepts. In addition the fact that the child’s sole companion is the grandmother who has come to stay for six months is not helpful to the child as the child requires playmates in terms of age mates that will enable the child to acquire basic mathematical concepts through playing with objects and shapes (Xu & Spelke 2000). However despite the weaknesses in the home environment the child possess vey essential skills that will enable the development of mathematical concepts within the home environment. It was observed that MayMay has strong interests in matching shapes and objects within the home environment. She can also engage in the form of classification of various objects in terms of colors and shapes into their desired categories. Maymay is further seen within the apartment playing with different objects while trying to classify them according to their colors and shapes. In addition Maymay has a strong interest in regards to the digital clock that is within the apartment. She tries to read and make sense out of the digital clock while at the same time trying to make sense out of the sequence of events. In this case making sense out of the sequence of events can be classified and analyzed in terms of the mathematical development (Russell, 2000). The experiences within the home environmental setting can further be developed for the purpose of building of the child’s current form of capabilities. As a Chinese immigrant child it is essential for Maymay to engage in the language learning process that will effectively facilitate communication and eventual learning and mathematical skills. The mathematical skills and capabilities can be enhanced through understanding the child’s interests and weaknesses. The interests can be enhanced while the weaknesses build into strong points within the child’s environmental setting. Language is essential in facilitating the child’s learning and literacy skills. In this case as a Chinese immigrant there is the existence of a language barrier that needs to be addressed in the process of communication and learning. Learning a second language for the child may be considered for the purpose of enhancing her literacy skills (Varol & Farran 2006). The process of enhancing a child’s mathematical skills and interests involves understanding the children’s thinking and perception while at the same time resolving their form of disagreement in the process of learning. This type of enhancement typically occurs through the spoken language. Thus as a Chinese immigrant there is need for a common language that the child will be able to comprehend and engage in activities in the learning process. In most cases the two year olds are able to grasp words and speak out several words clearly. The development of mathematical concepts, science and technology therefore begins when the child is in a position to speak out and communicate through the use of language. Hence in this case language forms an important aspect in mathematical development in children below the age of five years. In the case study Maymay has the capabilities of reading a book while identifying pictures within the book. This also involves a necessary skill in mathematical development process (Nicol & Crespo 2005). In addition another strategy that can be used in the enhancement of development of mathematical concepts involves the use of groups whereby children get to learn the different perception in regards to different ideas from diverse group of children. This strategy is mainly used within a classroom setting whereby children are usually placed in groups with the main aim sharing different types of ideas in regards to the mathematical, science and technology development. For instance a group of children in a class were put in a group in order to discuss their perceptions in regards to water. The group of children gave out diverse set of views in relation to their understanding of water and its uses. The same therefore applies to the development of mathematical concepts in early childhood years. The children in a group will engage in different forms of ideas and notions in relation to mathematical concepts and ideas (Varol & Farran 2006). For the purposes of increasing the efficiency of the development of learning and mathematical aspects in early child years it is important to develop tasks that are regarded as appropriate that will offer a form of motivation to the children within the age bracket of five years. In this case engaging in meaningful tasks has been known to increase the level of motivation and development of mathematical skills and capabilities. Meaningful tasks also offer the children an opportunity to relate freely with the mathematical ideas together with their applications in the real life settings (Wynn, 1992). In addition the use of meaningful tasks also enables and encourages a better construction of mathematical understanding by way of allowing children to engage in the use of the skills that they already possess through the form of social interactions. Real life situation coupled with the introduction of sequence of activities that are familiar within the child’s environmental setting can be introduced for the purpose of mathematical development concepts. Children should also be given an opportunity to formulate problems while at the same time reasoning out mathematically for the purpose of developing the ideas of mathematics, science and technology (Nicol & Crespo 2005). Future Prospects Language forms an important aspect in acquisition of literacy and mathematical learning skills. The focus child as a Chinese background while at the same time living with the grandmother there is a lot that need to be done in terms of language development for communication and learning purposes. Language and communication forms an essential part in literacy learning. Thus the process of communication facilitates the learning process. In this case the progress of the child should be monitored over time. In relation to the case study of Maymay two year old her progress should be monitored to ascertain whether there is a set of improvement in regards to mathematical concepts. Hence the child should also be in a position to make observations in relation to their personal growth and development in mathematical, science and technology development. Therefore the child should be assessed in terms of what the child can do and what the child cannot do within a given period of time (Gallistel & Gelman 2000). In the case study Maymay should be assessed in terms of what she can read and what she cannot read, the pictures she can identify and the ones she cannot successfully identify. It is important to note that the process of assessment should be aimed at promoting equity. This is due to the fact that every child has unique qualities and experiences and the process of justifiable assessment should therefore provide children with an equal chance to establish their exceptional capabilities and skills (Flint, Kitson, Lowe & Shaw 2014). The assessment process should therefore be done at various levels within the society (Worth & Grollman 2003). For instance the assessment of a child should be done in a home setting by parents and in a school setting through the use of teachers. The assessment process is also important for the fact that it helps in the provision and promotion of valid inferences in regards to the child’s mathematical learning experiences. Improvements should therefore be done and the home setting to enable the child to engage in the playing process with the use of various objects and shapes that will enhance the mathematical capabilities. Essentially more should be done within the home environment in order to give the child the opportunity to learn more through the daily experiences and activities (Clements & Sarama2005). It is important to note that the development of learning and literacy concepts generally begins early in life. In this case children should be motivated towards the types of activities that will in turn enhance the acquisition of mathematical concepts early in life. . A child will engage in the learning process and mathematical concepts if the environment within which the learning occurs is perceived to be safe and conducive. Thus environmental setting plays an important role in mathematical development process. In the case study a lot has to be done to facilitate the learning and development process. As a Chinese immigrant it is essential for language to be enhanced for the purposes of communication and learning. It is therefore essential to provide children with the necessary mathematical concepts that will in turn shape their future lives. Strategies are important to ensure that a child’s development progress in relation to learning, mathematical, science and technology concepts are enhanced. After the implementation of the strategies there is need for reflection to ascertain whether the strategies are of any assistance in the development process. The assessment process is therefore important for the purpose of gauging the child’s success in mathematical concepts and ideas. This feedback is therefore important for the fact that it is relays the child’s skills and potentials while at the same time providing ways of improvement in terms of instruction for the children (Neuman, Copple & Bredekamp 2000). References Clements, D. H., & Sarama, J. (2005). Think math!. Scholastic Parent and Child, 13(2), 25. Gallistel, C. R., & Gelman, R. (2000). Non-verbal numerical cognition: From reals to integers. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4, 59–65 Neuman, S. B., Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2000).Learning to read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for youngchildren. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children [ED463904]. Nicol, C., & Crespo, S. (2005). Exploring mathematics in imaginary places: Rethinking what counts as meaningful contexts for learning mathematics. School Science and Mathematics, 105(5), 240–251. Wynn, K. (1992). Addition and subtraction by human infants. Nature, 358, 749–750. Xu, F., & Spelke, E. S. (2000). Large number discrimination in 6-month-old infants. Cognition, 74, B1–B11. Russell, S. J. (2000). Developing computational fluency with whole numbers. Teaching Children Mathematics, 7(3), 154–158. Varol, F. and Farran, C. (2006). Early Mathematical Growth: How to Support Young Children’s Mathematical Development. Early Childhood Education Journal, Vol. 33, No. 6, June 2006. Worth, K. & Grollman, S. (2003). Worms, shadows and whirlpools. Science in the early childhood classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Flint, A., Kitson, L., Lowe, K. & Shaw, K. (2014). Literacy in Australia: Pedagogies for engagement. Milton, Qld: Wiley.Board of Studies NSW. (2012). Read More