Amber Simpson, Rebecca Borowski, Ashleigh Colquhoun, Zhengqi Hu
{"title":"Unplugged: Planting and Growing the Seed of Replacement in Four-Year Old-Children","authors":"Amber Simpson, Rebecca Borowski, Ashleigh Colquhoun, Zhengqi Hu","doi":"10.1007/s10643-024-01746-1","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>With the increase of computational thinking (CT) tools in education, there are questions as to whether and how CT might support and/or hinder algebraic thinking of young children. Utilizing seeds of algebraic thinking, we add to this scholarly discussion by presenting examples from a CT activity with four-year old children in which we illustrate how young children are engaged in early algebraic thinking. More specifically, we highlight children’s pre-instructional engagement with replacement, a precursor to the concept of variable. The included examples add to our limited scholarship regarding young children’s (i.e., ages 3 to 5 years) early development of algebraic thinking of replacement through an unplugged activity that can be implemented within multiple learning environments within children’s larger STEM ecosystem.</p>","PeriodicalId":47818,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Education Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Early Childhood Education Journal","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-024-01746-1","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
With the increase of computational thinking (CT) tools in education, there are questions as to whether and how CT might support and/or hinder algebraic thinking of young children. Utilizing seeds of algebraic thinking, we add to this scholarly discussion by presenting examples from a CT activity with four-year old children in which we illustrate how young children are engaged in early algebraic thinking. More specifically, we highlight children’s pre-instructional engagement with replacement, a precursor to the concept of variable. The included examples add to our limited scholarship regarding young children’s (i.e., ages 3 to 5 years) early development of algebraic thinking of replacement through an unplugged activity that can be implemented within multiple learning environments within children’s larger STEM ecosystem.
期刊介绍:
Early Childhood Education Journal is a professional publication of original peer-reviewed articles that reflect exemplary practices in the field of contemporary early childhood education. Articles cover the social, physical, emotional, and intellectual development of children age birth through 8, analyzing issues, trends, and practices from an educational perspective. The journal publishes feature-length articles that skillfully blend 1) theory, research, and practice, 2) descriptions of outstanding early childhood programs worldwide, and 3) quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research. Early Childhood Education Journal is of interest not only to classroom teachers, child care providers, college and university faculty, and administrators, but also to other professionals in psychology, health care, family relations, and social services dedicated to the care of young children.
Areas of Emphasis:
International studies;
Educational programs in diverse settings;
Early learning across multiple domains;
Projects demonstrating inter-professional collaboration;
Qualitative and quantitative research and case studies;
Best practices in early childhood teacher education;
Theory, research, and practice relating to professional development;
Family, school, and community relationships;
Investigations related to curriculum and instruction;
Articles that link theory and best practices;
Reviews of research with well-articulated connections to the field