9730698 Casey Boston College plans to design, develop, evaluate, and disseminate innovative mathematics instructional materials for teaching spatial skills, spatial patterning, and geometric concepts at the kindergarten level. These stand-alone modules will center on the creation of multicultural stories that pose geometry and spatial problems. Kindergartners will solve the problems using manipulatives and other hands-on materials. Based on NCTM and NAEYC recommendations, these instructional materials will do the following: 1. Incorporate gender, racial, and ethnic diversity in the mathematics curriculum in a substantive way; 2. Integrate mathematics learning through the kindergarten curriculum using developmentally appropriate practices; and 3. Shift the focus of early mathematics education from a mainly arithmetic-based curriculum to one that incorporates geometry and spatial skills.
