ABSTRACT

Children with Down syndrome (DS) can experience a number of difficulties in mathematics but one relatively unexplored area is that of being able to discriminate between quantities; an important foundational skill for later learning. This study examines whether children with DS can make judgements about relative quantity in the context of a card game with two groups of children group 1 (N = 16) mean age 8y 1 m and group 2 (N = 27) mean age 14y 3 m. The data reveal that they were able to make judgements when the ratio between quantities varied as little as 3:4; for the younger children small set sizes proved to be harder than large sets raising a number of implications for teaching. In both groups there were children who performed at chance level across all set sizes, suggesting that some children experience specific difficulties, but these did not necessarily impede attainments in mathematics.

摘要

患有唐氏综合症 (DS) 的儿童在数学方面可能会遇到许多困难，但一个相对未探索的领域是能够区分数量；以后学习的重要基础技能。本研究检验 DS 儿童是否可以在纸牌游戏的背景下判断相对数量. 数据显示，当数量之间的比例变化为 3:4 时，他们能够做出判断；对于年幼的孩子，事实证明，小套装比大套装更难，这对教学产生了许多影响。在这两组中，都有孩子在所有规模的机会水平上表现，这表明一些孩子遇到了特定的困难，