This book explores mathematical learning and cognition in early
childhood from interdisciplinary perspectives, including developmental
psychology, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and education. It
examines how infants and young children develop numerical and
mathematical skills, why some children struggle to acquire basic
abilities, and how parents, caregivers, and early childhood educators
can promote early mathematical development. The first section of the
book focuses on infancy and toddlerhood with a particular emphasis on
the home environment and how parents can foster early mathematical
skills to prepare their children for formal schooling. The second
section examines topics in preschool and kindergarten, such as the
development of counting procedures and principles, the use of
mathematics manipulatives in instruction, and the impacts of early
intervention. The final part of the book focuses on particular
instructional approaches in the elementary school years, such as
different additive concepts, schema-based instruction, and methods of
division. Chapters analyze the ways children learn to think about, work
with, and master the language of mathematical concepts, as well as
provide effective approaches to screening and intervention.
Included among the topics:
- The relationship between early gender differences and future
mathematical learning and participation.
- The connection between mathematical and computational thinking.
- Patterning abilities in young children.
- Supporting children with learning difficulties and intellectual
disabilities.
- The effectiveness of tablets as elementary mathematics education
tools.
Mathematical Learning and Cognition in Early Childhood is an essential
resource for researchers, graduate students, and professionals in
infancy and early childhood development, child and school psychology,
neuroscience, mathematics education, educational psychology, and social
work.
