The Complexity of
Early Mathematics Education
Jeanine Brownell
Jennifer McCray
U.S. Mathematics Education:
A Concern for
Almost 25 Years
United States
Other
industrialized
nations
In 1983, the Commission on
Excellence in Education first
reported U.S. students “lagging
behind” other industrialized
nations
No Improvement Among U.S. 4th
Graders
610
590
1995
2003
570
550
530
510
490
470
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450
(NCES, 2003 TIMSS Highlights)
Inadequate Improvement Among
U.S. 8th Graders
610
590
570
1995
550
2003
530
510
490
470
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(NCES, 2003 TIMSS Highlights)
School Readiness and Later
Achievement
Kindergarten entry
3rd to 8th grades
Early reading skills
Later reading achievement
Early math skills
Later math achievement
Early math skills
Later reading achievement
Duncan, et al. 2007
Myth 1:
Early mathematics education
is primarily learning numbers
and shapes.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
Content & Process Standards
Communication
Reasoning and Proof
ALGEBRA
Problem Solving
Representation
Connections
NUMBER &
OPERATIONS
DATA
ANALYSIS
Sample of a Child’s Algebraic
Thinking
Myth 2:
Teaching early mathematics
is easy since it’s about the
most basic math.
Early Mathematics Teaching
WHAT
HOW
Content
Knowledge
Instructional
Methods
PCK
Pedagogical
Content
Knowledge
WHO
Knowledge of
Children
Shulman, 1986, 1987
Counting is Complex
+
Number is Complex
Myth 3:
Young children pick up
mathematics concepts
naturally through play and in
their daily lives. Direct
instruction is unnecessary and
developmentally inappropriate.
Scientific concepts originate in
classroom instruction, helping to
transform the structure of the child’s
spontaneous concepts and organize
them into a system.
Spontaneous concepts originate in the
child’s personal experience. They are
often used as mediators to understand
the scientific concepts.
Vygotsky, 1978
Good early mathematics
should…
Enhance children’s natural interest in
mathematics; and
Build on children’s varying experiences,
including their family, linguistic, and cultural
backgrounds.
--NAEYC/NCTM Joint Position Statement, 2002
Myth 4:
Early mathematics learning
happens through hands-on
activities with manipulatives.
There is a significant
relationship between the
amount of math-related
talk by preschool teachers
and the growth of
mathematics knowledge
in their children over the
school year.
Klibanoff, et al. 2007
Children do not
learn by doing.
They learn by
thinking and
talking about
what they are
doing.
--Angela Andrews
Our Challenge:
Most early childhood
teachers are not adequately
prepared to teach early
mathematics.
Chicago Early Childhood Mathematics
90
Language Arts or Literature
21
MATHEMATICS ACTIVITY
6
Social Studies
11
Science
Art or Music Activity
38
0
20
40
60
80
At Least One Instance
Mathematics activities take place in only 21 percent of
CPS early childhood classrooms on a given day
(Chicago Program Evaluation Project, 2007)
100
Teacher Preparedness
Percent of early childhood teacher education programs in
New Jersey’s 4-year colleges that provide …
A course focused on early literacy
80%
A course focused on early mathematics
16%
Mathematics only as part of integrated ece curriculum 74%
No early mathematics training at all
10%
Lobman, Ryan, & McLaughlin, 2005
The Early Mathematics
Education (EME) Project
Supported by McCormick Foundation and
CME Trust
Served 80 CPS preschool and kindergarten
teachers and the 2,500 children they teach
in 2007-2008
Are serving an additional 86 teachers this
year
Two Elements of EME
Workshop
Sessions
On-Site
Consultation
EME Combines Great Children’s
Literature with Early Mathematics
Content Standards of the National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics
(2000)
Algebraic
Thinking
Number and
Operations
Geometry
BIG IDEAS
Data Analysis
Measurement
Sessions are Interactive and
Hands-On
Teachers Have Lots
of Opportunities to
Work Together
Early Mathematics
Education in Perspective
EME
THANK YOU
Jennifer McCray, EME Director
jmccray@erikson.edu
Jeanine Brownell, EME Project
Coordinator
jbrownell@erikson.edu