Play-Based Mathematics in Kindergarten. A Video Analysis of Children’s Mathematical Behaviour While Playing a Board Game in Small Groups

Abstract

Kindergarten children enjoy playing games, as games bring motivation and active learning. Many board and card games require mathematical competency and therefore, carefully selected board and card games could be used as meaningful learning tasks for mathematics education in early childhood. With this in mind, several games for fostering quantity-number competencies have been implemented in an intervention study. The study included 6 years old children and three conditions: training program (n = 110), play-based intervention (n = 89) and control (n = 125). For this article, videos involving 21 children in ten teams from one of the most widely played games in the play-based intervention were selected for in-depth analysis: the board game Shut the Box. This explorative analysis of children's mathematical behaviour and peer support whilst playing a board game allows researching in what way a specific game provides a meaningful learning task for early mathematics. The results show that children employ several mathematical skills while playing, depending on their individual quantity-number competencies. As the game can be easily repeated several times, the children practise and shape mathematical skills and monitor and support their co-player in order to increase their chances of winning the game. It is suggested, that the board game provides an adaptive and motivating setting, which can meet the learning needs of low as well as high achieving children.Keywords: quantity-number competencies, play-based early mathematics, early childhood education, play, video

Learning through play – pedagogy and learning outcomes in early childhood mathematics

“…The study effectively demonstrates that innovative approaches to early maths can be successfully based on play, particularly on card and board games, specifically developed with regard to quantity-number-competencies as defined in the curriculum. The specific potential of card and board games can be found in the opportunity of performing mathematical activities over and over again and the motivation of a peer-group setting, whereby co-players monitor and support each other (Stebler et al 2013). The play-based approach developed here is not free play but guided play (Weisberg, Hirsh-Pasek, and Golinkoff 2013).…”

Learning through play – pedagogy and learning outcomes in early childhood mathematics

“…The specific potential of card and board games can be found in the opportunity of performing mathematical activities over and over again and the motivation of a peer-group setting, whereby co-players monitor and support each other (Stebler et al 2013). The play-based approach developed here is not free play but guided play (Weisberg, Hirsh-Pasek, and Golinkoff 2013).…”

Modelling early childhood teachers’ mathematics-specific professional competence and its differential growth through professional development – an aspect of structural validity

“…The importance of mathematical learning opportunities in kindergarten is underpinned by research (e.g. Stebler, Vogt, Wolf, Hauser, & Rechsteiner, 2013).…”