The Representation Strategies of Preschool Children When Solving Numeracy Task

Abstract

Identifying and addressing the knowledge gap in early numeracy is crucial, given the strong associations between early numeracy skills and later school success. The purpose of this study is to establish current viewpoints and ideas on children’s numeracy development via three forms of representation: manipulative, symbolic, and static. The Children’s Numeracy Task was used to assess eleven preschool children’s numeracy knowledge via a semi-structured interview. The task was also designed to be presented in the three mathematical representations: concrete, static, and symbolic. The findings indicate that preschool children are more likely to use symbolic representation in solving a given task. This study highlights perspectives on how to apply various representations as pedagogical and assessment strategies to address the children’s readiness for a mathematics lesson at the primary school level.