Opinions of pre-service pre-school teachers on the use of mathematics activities (original) (raw)

CHALLENGES IN THE TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

International Journal of Development Research, 2022

This article presents a study on the challenges in teaching mathematics in early childhood education. The study was based on the qualitative, descriptive with non-experimental design. Childhood is a singular stage of human development, where the child develops positive attitudes when he comes into contact with mathematics, even if he maintains contact only with previous knowledge in the family environment and social life. Matematization plays a central role in the development of proficiency, matematization processes must permeate all learning and teaching activities. It is emphasized that teachers should also be based on mathematical foundations in order to effectively facilitate progress in the development of children. The teacher uses the game as a discovery learning approach.

Teacher Involvement in Introducing Beginning Mathematical Concepts to Early Childhood

Insania: Jurnal Pemikiran Alternatif Kependidikan, 2022

This study aims to determine the involvement of teachers in introducing beginning mathematics to early childhood. This study uses a descriptive qualitative approach. The data collection technique was carried out using structured interviews with research subjects involving 5 Early Childhood Education (PAUD) teachers in the South Tangerang area in Indonesia who were selected through purposive sampling. Data analysis in this study uses the concept of Miles and Huberman, namely data analysis, data reduction, data presentation and conclusion. The results of the interviews were analyzed to find out the media, methods, constraints, solutions and children's responses to the introduction of early mathematics. The results obtained in this study indicate that teachers play an important role in introducing early childhood math classes which can be done in various ways according to the needs of each child. The introduction of early math concepts to early childhood involves teachers taking an important role in banning children from PAUD. The existence of use of learning media, methods and strategies that are very diverse so that teachers are expected to be able to help children introduce mathematics to early childhood.

A pre-service teacher-child interactive learning approach for “mathematics education in early childhood”: An example model with play and movement-based activities

2020

The purpose of this study is to research the effects of a pre-service teacher-child interactive learning approach for mathematics education in early childhood on pre-service preschool teachers and preschool children. This study is conducted in phenomenological research design based on qualitative paradigm. The study groups consist of second grade 62 pre-service preschool teachers, 12 children in the age group of four to five, and 2 preschool teachers. Interview technique was used to collect the study data and descriptive analysis technique was used to analyze the obtained data. In this context, 12 weeks play and movement-based activities, containing concepts and learning outcomes for mathematics education (in the course of mathematics education in early childhood) with pre-service teacher-child interactive learning approach, were implemented. As a result of the study, it was stated by the pre-service preschool teachers that the course carried out in this way has many contributions i...

Difficulties of Early Childhood Education Teachers' in Mathematics Activities

Acta Didactica Napocensia

In this study, it was aimed to identify the difficulties experienced by early childhood education teachers in planning, implementation and evaluation processes of in-class and out-ofclass mathematics activities and parent involvement in such activities. The answers of the teachers to the questions on the interview form were recorded via a voice recorder and transcribed into written form by the researcher. In the direction of the findings, those who think that they have some difficulty in planning the in-class mathematics activities showed the causes as the idea of difficulty of mathematics, the lack of professional experience, failure to know the child well, the difficulties in adaptation, the lack of budget and resources. The difficulties in implementing inclass math activities were indicated as children's mobility, distraction, having different levels of readiness and learning at different speed, having a multitude of children with special needs in the class and the lack of assistant staff. The reasons like children's inability to write numbers, difficulties in counting on fingers, identifying numbers, subtracting, etc. were also reported as difficulties. Teachers mentioned the difficulties in planning out-of-class math activities, such as quick distraction of children's attention, transportation problems, noisy places, physical conditions, the absence of independent garden. The difficulties experienced in the implication process of outof-class math activities were distraction, safety of children, absence of auxiliary personnel, and inadequacies in physical conditions.

Analysis of mathematical achievements of students with and without preschool education and their attitudes towards mathematics based on the view of 1 st grade teachers

Preschool age includes the years when all developmental areas of the child are in a rapid change and progress. Children's learning experiences in this period develop a basis for the skills they will acquire in later years (Kıran, 2008). The required educational experiences that would allow preschool children to acquire certain behavioral patterns and support their development are developed by parents at home and by teachers in preschool education institutions. The development of children who could not benefit from these educational experiences is usually slow and children are destined to carry the traces of this negative condition throughout their lives (Aral et al., 2000). Furthermore, preschool education improves the development of the emotions and perception of the children. It helps the child in reasoning and causality processes. It helps the society to assimilate cultural values by educating the child in a social environment based on general cultural values (Şahin, 2004). Thus, the aim of the present study was to analyze mathematics achievement of children with and without preschool education and their attitudes towards mathematics based on the views of 1st grade teachers. The interview technique, a qualitative research method, was used in the present study. The study population included 1st grade primary school teachers employed in Ministry of National Education primary schools in Diyarbakır province, Turkey during the 2018-2019 academic year. The study sample included 82 randomly selected classroom teachers from the above-mentioned population. A semi-structured interview form developed by the authors was used to collect the study data. The data collection instrument included six open-ended questions. Content analysis was used to analyze the data collected in the study. The data collected in the interviews were categorized via coding for use in content analysis. The data were classified under these categories and the responses of the teachers to the interview questions were reviewed in detail, and similar answers were included in the same category. The expressions in teacher statements were categorized into themes. Furthermore, the collected data are presented with direct quotes. The study findings demonstrated that the students with preschool education had higher mathematics achievement and their attitudes towards mathematics course were more positive when compared to the students without preschool education. Furthermore, since preschool students' readiness, self-confidence, cognitive, psychomotor and language development skills were more advanced when compared to other students in the 1st grade mathematics course, it was observed that they were more interested and willing to answer questions, solve problems and produce creative solutions.

Teachers’ Role and Responsibility in Improving Preschool Students’ Mathematical Skills

International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 2017

Article History: Received 01.07.2017 Received in revised form 09.11.2017 Accepted 13.11.2017 Available online 16.11.2017 There is an increasing tendency to early childhood education in the world. In the context of mathematics education, children begin early childhood education with their informal mathematical skills. The aim of this research was to determine the role and the responsibilities of preschool teachers in improving children’s mathematical skills. The study was done in Ağrı Province during 2013-2014 academic year as a case study. Participants were 27 preschool teachers who were selected with convenient sampling method. In order to collect data from preschool teachers, Delphi technique was applied and participants were compromised in four stages of the delphi technique. As the results of the research, the responsibilities of preschool teachers were found as considering children's ages and individual differences, making math fun, preparing a safe environment and choosing...

International Journal of Psychology and Educational Studies A Longitudinal Study of the Attitudes of Early Childhood Pre-service Teachers towards Mathematics ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

As in many countries, early childhood teachers introduce mathematics content in kindergartens in Turkey. Therefore, early childhood teachers should master a certain level of mathematics knowledge and are offered a mathematics methods course in faculties of education. Teacher training programs are also expected to improve early childhood preservice teachers (PSTs) attitudes towards mathematics (ATM). In this context, it seems important to investigate whether and how much early childhood PSTs' attitude towards mathematics changed throughout their university lives. Our study was conducted with a sampling of 43 participants studying at a state university in the north of Turkey, in the Black Sea Region. The data was collected from early childhood PSTs using the same attitude scale in their 1st and 3rd years of study. The quantitative analysis of the data in SPSS 22 using t-test for paired samples demonstrated that the early childhood PSTs' attitudes towards mathematics have improved from the 1st to the 3rd year. In our sampling, one-way ANOVA and t-test for independent samples revealed that the ATM of the early childhood PSTs were not associated with variables such as gender, the type of completed high school, total family income, and parents' level of education. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the mathematics methods course offered to early childhood PSTs in their 2nd year might be effective in improving the attitudes towards mathematics.

A Look at the Processes of Developing Math Activities: Pre-service Primary Teachers

Education Quarterly Reviews, 2021

Activities, which are defined as activities that support students’ mathematical learning and increase their levels of mathematic learning, enable the individual to be active by mentally and physically engaging in an action, to establish a cause-effect relationship, and to satisfy his/her curiosity. In this respect, activities have an important effect on the attitude towards mathematics. For this reason, it was aimed to examine the math activity preparation processes of pre-school primary teachers in the current study. To this end, the study was designed in accordance with the case study design, one of the qualitative research methods. In the analysis of the collected data, content analysis was employed. As a result of the study, it was found that the pre-service teachers prepared the activities themselves, they used books and the internet during the development process, and they prepared the activities for the introduction and ending sections of the lesson. In addition, it was obser...

Mathematics in Early Childhood: Research-Based Rationale and Practical Strategies

Early Childhood Education Journal, 2011

Mathematics education is a critical part of the curriculum for students worldwide. The foundation for understanding mathematical concepts related to number sense begins early in life, and early childhood classrooms can provide the seeds for mathematical skills that will be needed later in life. In this article, the authors make a case for meaningful and developmentally appropriate mathematics experiences for young children in diverse early learning settings. Instructional and curricular methods inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach are described as effective ways to teach number concepts to young children from preschool through primary age. Strategies for teachers of young learners are presented in order to strengthen the mathematics curriculum in contemporary early learning settings. The authors' analysis and recommendations are informed by their extensive experiences including studies in Reggio Emilia early childhood settings (infant toddler, preschool, and primary schools) and their work in early childhood teacher education at their respective universities. Keywords Reggio Emilia Á Mathematics Á Number sense The Importance of Mathematics in Early Childhood Settings Early childhood settings should provide research-based curriculum and instructional practices that begin to build a foundation for the understanding of mathematical concepts. According to Clements (2001), there are four reasons for intentionally teaching mathematics to preschool children: (1) current early childhood curriculum is very limited in