Medical X-Press – Amy Patterson Neubert
“Teaching preschool children simple math-related vocabulary and concepts, such as “more,” “a lot,” “some” and “fewer,” improves their mathematical skills, according to a new a study from Purdue University. “This approach is not new, but we believe this is the first study to show that intentionally teaching and exposing young children to such language concepts makes a difference in their ability to learn basic math skills,” said David Purpura, an assistant professor of human development and family studies. “We found that when children were read stories with age-appropriate mathematical language and pictures, and then discussed these specific concepts in small groups, they scored higher on math tests for not just these specific words, but also math skills that were not covered in the books.” The results are published in the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness. Mathematical language is one of the strongest predictors of children’s early mathematical success, so Purpura wanted to determine how effective early exposure to mathematical language could be for children ages 3-5.”(more)