Increasing mathematics subject knowledge
Early childhood educators are busy people who need to have at close hand resources that will assist them in developing their subject knowledge – in this case – mathematical knowledge. Although educators will no doubt have access to a variety of resources, this section focuses specifically on four useful publications:
1. The New Zealand Curriculum
2. Kei Tua o te Pae
3. Supporting Mathematical Development in the Early Years
4. Te Whāriki.
The New Zealand Curriculum1 is the current national curriculum for teaching and learning in New Zealand schools. Although it has been written for the compulsory years 1-13 of the education sector, sections of the content are relevant for the early years before school.
Specifically, the mathematics and statistics component provides educators with an overview of mathematical concepts. Levels One and Two of the curriculum are particularly relevant for children's learning in early childhood settings. Much of this section will provide early childhood educators with a useful background to the exploration of their personal knowledge of mathematics. The following extract is taken from the national curriculum1:
Mathematics is the exploration and use of patterns and relationships in quantities, space, and time. Statistics is the exploration and use of patterns and relationships in data. These two disciplines are related but different ways of thinking and of solving problems. Both equip [learners] with effective means for investigating, interpreting, explaining, and making sense of the world in which they live.
Mathematicians and statisticians use symbols, graphs, and diagrams to help them find and communicate patterns and relationships, and they create models to represent both real-life and hypothetical situations. These situations are drawn from a wide range of social, cultural, scientific, technological, health, environmental, and economic contexts. (p. 26)
One way for early childhood educators to focus and build on their personal subject knowledge of mathematics is to consider how the extract above, aligned with the mathematical and statistical concepts at Levels One and Two2 of the national curriculum1 can be beneficial in their work with not only young children, but also infants and toddlers.
1 Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.
2 Parsonage, N. (2001). Teacher knowledge: a crucial factor in supporting mathematical learning through play. ACE Papers 11, 51-61.