A child sorts shape blocks based on various attributes.

Focus on the Child videos are taken from one-on-one interviews with individual children. The interviews are designed to elicit evidence of children’s mathematical thinking. They are not teaching episodes or formal assessments.

A kindergarten student organizes shape blocks by the various shapes of their faces.

Focus on the Child videos are taken from one-on-one interviews with individual children. The interviews are designed to elicit evidence of children’s mathematical thinking. They are not teaching episodes or formal assessments.

A child uses a stuffed animal to practice position words.

Focus on the Child videos are taken from one-on-one interviews with individual children. The interviews are designed to elicit evidence of children’s mathematical thinking. They are not teaching episodes or formal assessments.

A child practices position prepositions using a stuffed animal.

Focus on the Child videos are taken from one-on-one interviews with individual children. The interviews are designed to elicit evidence of children’s mathematical thinking. They are not teaching episodes or formal assessments.

Joanne Mulligan questions the efficacy of current electronic educational teaching tools.

What’s the difference between holding a pattern block and tracing around it, and moving it across a screen? Is the learning the same?

Joanne Mulligan is an associate professor in mathematics education and associate director of the Centre for Research in Mathematics and Science Education (CRiMSE) at Macquarie University in Sydney. Dr. Mulligan specializes in early mathematical development for children aged 4 to 9 and has 30 years of related experience, both as a primary school teacher and a mathematics education researcher.

The Early Math Collaborative, supported by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, held international symposia in 2009 and 2010. The two events brought experts from around the world to share approaches to early mathematics education with teachers, administrators, policy-makers, and other education professionals. The goal was to generate globally-informed ideas and recommendations for improving math instruction in the early childhood classroom. In breakout discussions and plenary sessions, participants brainstormed ideas, identified issues, and recommended actions.

Oksana Igrakova describes some of the broad mathematical connections a teacher could create with the Russian folk story “The Giant Turnip.”

Oksana V. Igrakova is the head of primary school education at the Slavyansk-on-Kuban State Pedagogical Institute in the Krasnodar region of Russia. She also supervises a task group on mathematics testing in primary school settings, is a lecturer in mathematics and assessment, and conducts an annual seminar for school teachers on problems within mathematics education.

The Early Math Collaborative, supported by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, held international symposia in 2009 and 2010. The two events brought experts from around the world to share approaches to early mathematics education with teachers, administrators, policy-makers, and other education professionals. The goal was to generate globally-informed ideas and recommendations for improving math instruction in the early childhood classroom. In breakout discussions and plenary sessions, participants brainstormed ideas, identified issues, and recommended actions.