Invitation to participate in new mathematics education research with preschool children
Those with preschool children (or who know families with preschool children) are invited to take part in a study to be carried out by Dr Charis Voutsina and Dr Debbie Stott from the Southampton Education School.
The aim is to analyse the development of preschool children’s interpretations of the different uses of written numbers in everyday life, as well as the development of children’s own, written mathematical notations over their transition from Preschool to Reception. Findings from the project will provide early years educators with information on the wide range of everyday knowledge about numbers that children develop and bring to class.
Participants
Preschool children aged between 3 and 4 i.e. children who will be moving into Reception in September 2021 or September 2022
Activities
- Children will play a fun ‘Number Spotting’ game with their parents/carers searching for written numbers in the environment as part of their normal, everyday activities, inside and outside home. We will ask parents/carers to take photos of written numbers that children spot in everyday situations, including the object/location where the number was spotted, using their mobile phones, and send them to the researchers, by email, with a short message about where they were and what they were doing when they spotted the numbers.
- Children will also take part in individual number-based activities and conversations with a researcher about the uses and meanings of written numbers in everyday life. These individual sessions will take place at the University of Southampton campus and will be video recorded to help us capture an accurate record of the conversation and any actions, counting and gestures during the activities.
Timescales and data
Over the course of the year, children and families will engage in these two activities at three different points in time. Data will be collected from these three cycles and will be anonymised. At the end of the three cycles, children will receive a printed diary of their participation in the project.
| Cycle | Period |
|---|---|
| Cycle 1 | Summer term May-July 2021 |
| Cycle 2 | Autumn term November-December 2021 |
| Cycle 3 | Summer term May-July 2022 |
If you are interested in taking part or would like further information, please email Debbie on NumberSpotting@soton.ac.uk
This research study is funded by The Leverhulme Trust and conducted by the University under the direction of Dr Charis Voutsina.
Ethics ID: 55474