A proposed instructional theory for number in preschool

Abstract

Background: research has revealed that young children's development of early number concepts is critical for their long term success. Students who are more skilful with small numbers are much more likely to perform well in mathematics five and even more years after they leave preschool. Objectives: to develop an instructional theory for number in preschool, which is intended to be a resource with the potential for informing and guiding preschool teachers in supporting their students' development of early number concepts. Design: a preliminary version of an instructional theory was formulated and then tested in a classroom setting. Context and participants: a classroom design experiment was conducted in a public preschool classroom with 22 five-year-old students. Data collection and analysis: The research team assumed the role of a classroom teacher and used a preliminary version of the instructional theory to support the mathematical learning in class during 21 instructional sessions. This work analysed how participation and learning evolved. The analysis was used to assess the suitability of the instructional theory as a teaching resource and adjust it. Results: the results of the classroom design experiment indicate that the proposed instructional theory can be a useful resource for preschool teachers. Conclusions: the developed resource can help preschool teachers enhance their pupils' opportunities for long-term educational success in mathematics.