Report calls for new initiative to improve math education for preschoolers

Drawing on available evidence, the report recommends that mathematics instruction in early childhood settings concentrate on two major content areas. The first area -- and the one to which the most time should be devoted -- is the concept of "number," used by mathematics educators to encompass counting, determining relative quantities (less and more), and basic computational operations such as adding and subtracting. The second area is geometry, spatial thinking, and measurement. Within those areas, children should reflect on and discuss the mathematical reasoning used to solve problems. For example, children might practice measuring various objects using a wooden block and then discuss why it is important to use a standard unit of measure in determining whether one object is longer or taller than another.

For each content area the report describes "teaching-learning paths" -- sequences of learning experiences in which one idea lays the foundation for the next. Research has shown these pathways to be effective for children to build knowledge and competence in mathematics, said the committee. For example, a child might be shown many examples of shapes to learn what aspects are mathematically relevant to determining shape -- a square must have four sides, for instance -- and what factors are not, such as size or orientation. After a child learns basic shapes, he or she can learn to combine them to create new shapes.

The teaching-learning paths outlined in the report should be the basis of classroom instruction, the committee said, and states should develop or revise their early childhood learning standards to reflect these paths. Curriculum developers also should base their materials on these learning pathways.

A key component of the new national initiative would be providing teachers with professional development about the teaching-learning paths and how to implement a strong mathematics curriculum, the report says. And any serious effort to improve early childhood math instruction will need to include licensure and accreditation processes that assess teachers' and programs' competence in teaching math.

Opportunities to receive high-quality math instruction are especially important for low-income children, the committee said, urging implementation of the report's recommendations by Head Start and other publicly funded programs. Children from low-income families, on average, demonstrate lower levels of competence in math prior to entering school, and these gaps persist or widen as schooling continues. Providing these children with high-quality mathematics instruction early on can provide a foundation for future learning and can help address long-term systematic inequities in educational outcomes.