ABSTRACT

Given the recent attention on early childhood mathematics education, it is important to understand how early childhood educators conceptualize the work of mathematics teaching and learning. This article describes a study of preschool educators’ conceptions of mathematics teaching and learning in the context of a multi-year professional development project at two Head Start preschool centers. In particular, I examined how participants in this study perceived their roles in mathematics teaching and learning, and how their conceptions demonstrated awareness of children’s ways of thinking and learning in play. I found that educators’ conceptions converged around three themes of practice: 1) engaging and nurturing, 2) noticing children’s mathematical activity, and 3) guiding children’s mathematical learning. These conceptions shed new light on the promises and challenges of professional development aimed at improving mathematics teaching and learning in early childhood education.

摘要

鉴于最近对幼儿数学教育的关注，了解幼儿教育者如何概念化数学教与学的工作非常重要。本文描述了在两个启蒙学前教育中心的多年专业发展项目背景下对学前教育者的数学教与学概念的研究。特别是，我研究了本研究的参与者如何看待他们在数学教学和学习中的角色，以及他们的概念如何表现出对儿童在游戏中的思维方式和学习方式的认识。我发现教育工作者的概念围绕三个实践主题：1）参与和培养，2）关注孩子的数学活动，3）指导孩子的数学学习。