How high can you count? Probing the limits of children’s counting.

Posid, Tasha; Cordes, Sara

doi:10.1037/dev0000469

Cited by 16 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Our findings add to a growing literature suggesting that children have knowledge of number words outside of their knower-level (e.g., Huang et al, 2010 ; Posid and Cordes, 2018 ; Wagner et al, 2019 ; O’Rear et al, 2020 ). The nuances in number knowledge that the Point-to-X task captures may allow researchers to understand the mechanism for acquiring number words.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Measuring Emerging Number Knowledge in Toddlers

et al. 2021

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Recent evidence suggests that infants and toddlers may recognize counting as numerically relevant long before they are able to count or understand the cardinal meaning of number words. The Give-N task, which asks children to produce sets of objects in different quantities, is commonly used to test children’s cardinal number knowledge and understanding of exact number words but does not capture children’s preliminary understanding of number words and is difficult to administer remotely. Here, we asked whether toddlers correctly map number words to the referred quantities in a two-alternative forced choice Point-to-X task (e.g., “Which has three?”). Two- to three-year-old toddlers (N = 100) completed a Give-N task and a Point-to-X task through in-person testing or online via videoconferencing software. Across number-word trials in Point-to-X, toddlers pointed to the correct image more often than predicted by chance, indicating that they had some understanding of the prompted number word that allowed them to rule out incorrect responses, despite limited understanding of exact cardinal values. No differences in Point-to-X performance were seen for children tested in-person versus remotely. Children with better understanding of exact number words as indicated on the Give-N task also answered more trials correctly in Point-to-X. Critically, in-depth analyses of Point-to-X performance for children who were identified as 1- or 2-knowers on Give-N showed that 1-knowers do not show a preliminary understanding of numbers above their knower-level, whereas 2-knowers do. As researchers move to administering assessments remotely, the Point-to-X task promises to be an easy-to-administer alternative to Give-N for measuring children’s emerging number knowledge and capturing nuances in children’s number-word knowledge that Give-N may miss.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Measuring Emerging Number Knowledge in Toddlers

et al. 2021

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“…Finally, a part of the divergences reported between studies could certainly be attributed to more or less subtle differences in the instructions. Some versions of the GaN task include a follow-up question after the child has responded while others do not (Krajcsi et al, 2018;Mussolin et al, 2012;Posid & Cordes, 2018;Wagner & Johnson, 2011). Moreover, the follow-up question itself could take different forms with potentially different effects on the performance.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Acquiring the cardinal knowledge of number words: A conceptual replication

Rousselle

Vossius

2021

J. Numer. Cogn.

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Understanding the way in which counting represent numerosities was shown to be a long-lasting process. As shown in the Give-a-number task, acquiring the meanings of verbal number words goes through successive developmental stages in which children first learn the cardinal meanings of small number words one at a time before generalizing the cardinal principle they have induced from the first three number words to all number words within their counting range. This acquisition would take about a year, and would be completed by the age of 3 ½ years. The aim of the present study was to provide a conceptual replication of the developmental sequence described in Wynn’s study nearly 30 years ago using the Give-a-number task. A first cross-sectional study was conducted on 213 Belgian children aged between 39 and 74 months using the Give-a-number task to examine the developmental pattern and the influence of age on this acquisition. The time span of acquisition was examined in a second study in which 34 children were tested five times every months between the age of 36 to 52 months. Results showed that acquiring the cardinal meanings of number words spread out over a protracted period, far more extended than assumed by Wynn. Furthermore, children do not generalize all-at-once to large number words, the cardinal knowledge they learned on small number words. Rather, number words were found to be learned one at a time in a really progressive manner. Results were discussed with regard to their implications for the existing theories and in relation with other tasks assessing the acquisition of verbal number symbols.

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“…Gibson and colleagues argue that this finding shows that number-talk, that is, directed to the child's knower-level, or level directly above, is most beneficial for children's learning (Gibson et al, 2020). This, and other training studies (Gibson et al, 2020;Mix et al, 2012;O'Rear & McNeil, 2019;Posid & Cordes, 2018), shows that language experience, in the form of hearing number words used to count and label sets of objects, has a significant causal impact on children's developing number knowledge.…”

Section: Research Highlightsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Training studies add further support to the role of specific number related language experiences, in the form of language input from caregivers, in learning about natural numbers (Gibson et al., 2020; Mix et al., 2012; O'Rear & McNeil, 2019; Posid & Cordes, 2018). Gibson et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Predicting children's emerging understanding of numbers

Schröder

Gredebäck

Forssman

et al. 2021

Developmental Science

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How do children construct a concept of natural numbers? Past research addressing this question has mainly focused on understanding how children come to acquire the cardinality principle. However, at that point children already understand the first number words and have a rudimentary natural number concept in place. The question therefore remains; what gets children's number learning off the ground? We therefore, based on previous empirical and theoretical work, tested which factors predict the first stages of children's natural number understanding. We assessed if children's expressive vocabulary, visuospatial working memory, and ANS (Approximate number system) acuity at 18 months of age could predict their natural number knowledge at 2.5 years of age. We found that early expressive vocabulary and visuospatial working memory were important for later number knowledge. The results of the current study add to a growing body of literature showing the importance of language in children's learning about numbers.

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How high can you count? Probing the limits of children’s counting.

Cited by 16 publications

References 45 publications

Measuring Emerging Number Knowledge in Toddlers

Measuring Emerging Number Knowledge in Toddlers

Acquiring the cardinal knowledge of number words: A conceptual replication

Predicting children's emerging understanding of numbers

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