Column: How early childhood exposure to math builds toward academic success

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It is just as natural for young children to think mathematically about their world as it is for them to use language. 

They develop mathematical knowledge as they manipulate objects and reason about and represent quantities using number words, objects and, eventually, written numerals. For example, they can learn to use number words to count objects, compare set sizes, use everyday items like paper clips to measure objects, manipulate shapes to create new shapes (e.g., tangrams), and combine objects to complete simple addition problems.

Decades of research have demonstrated how children’s math knowledge when they enter kindergarten predicts their long-term academic success across all subjects. 

However, too many children still don’t have the opportunity to develop this foundational knowledge before they start kindergarten. But there are steps California’s education leaders can take to improve children’s access to high-quality early math learning opportunities. 

The answers lie in four areas: 

1. Better preparation in teaching math for early childhood educators 
2. More time spent teaching math in early childhood programs, including preschool, prekindergarten (PK) and transitional kindergarten (TK)
3. More rigorous math content in early childhood curricula 
4. Greater partnerships with families to support children’s math learning  

Although early educators are required to teach across all subject areas, they frequently report not feeling prepared for or confident about teaching math. The reason is clear: A survey of colleges providing preschool teacher training found that only 21% of colleges offered courses on teaching math.

This inadequate preparation increases the need for ongoing professional learning for early childhood educators. Unfortunately, early childhood educators are less likely than elementary school teachers to receive professional learning opportunities. In addition to curriculum-based professional learning, early childhood educators need targeted training in math development and instruction, and access to formative assessments. This includes having opportunities to engage in hands-on math experiences to develop positive beliefs about and skills for teaching math. It also includes opportunities to deepen their understanding of how and when children develop math skills and how to support children’s math learning in ways that are closely aligned with and advance their current skill levels. They also need access to easy-to-use formative assessments so they can routinely use data about their young students’ math skills to guide their instruction.

Given their feelings of being unprepared, it’s not surprising that early childhood educators generally spend very little time supporting young children’s math learning. Research has found that pre-K children spend as little as two minutes a day engaged in math activities in their early childhood programs. But when early childhood educators are knowledgeable in early math development, they teach math more frequently. 

Surprisingly, even the comprehensive curricula used in programs like Head Start and state early childhood programs do not adequately prepare children for kindergarten math standards. In fact, mathematics comprises only 14% of the total activities in these curricula. To address this challenge, programs can implement supplemental curricula with demonstrated efficacy, such as “Pre-K Mathematics.” Rigorous early math curricula challenge and engage children in developmentally appropriate math activities. These supplemental options should provide a strong foundation in informal mathematical concepts aligned with each strand from California’s Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundation (PTKLF), which outlines key knowledge and skills that most children ages 3 to 5-1/2 years old can achieve.

Ideally, these activities are facilitated by teachers through regular small-group instruction where they can provide support based on student progress. Teachers should also intentionally integrate these math concepts into daily routines (e.g., counting friends who are wearing pink), and play-based learning (e.g., exploring volume at the sand table). 

Finally, differences in families’ math-related home practices are related to differences in children’s early mathematical knowledge. Families often don’t know how to support their children’s math development, but they want resources to help. Families increase their math-related home practices when they receive ongoing, clear and usable information about early math development, including ideas for supporting their children’s math learning during everyday routines. Families can help their children build math vocabulary and practice math skills during mealtime, bedtime routines, cleaning, traveling, playtime (both indoor and outdoor), and in countless other settings. 

They can practice counting and cardinality as they share meals (e.g., a caregiver can share that a child will get six blueberries with lunch and help them count the blueberries and confirm that they have six blueberries on their plate). They can also practice comparing quantities using number words during mealtime (e.g., ask a child to share who at the table has more blueberries and then emphasize that they have more since they have 10 blueberries and the child has six blueberries). They can also practice simple arithmetic during mealtime (e.g., they can work together to figure out how many blueberries the child will have left if they eat two of their six blueberries).  

Importantly, there is research evidence that enhancing both families’ efforts to support children’s math learning in their homes and communities, as well as early childhood educators’ math instruction, leads to larger improvements in children’s math skills than only enhancing educators’ math instruction. As such, early childhood educators should be intentional about extending their classroom math instruction by supporting families with engaging their children in opportunities to talk about and practice math at home and in their communities.

By addressing these interrelated factors, we can transform early math education and support all students in establishing a solid foundation for their future academic success.