The proposed five-year project seeks to investigate the connections between symbolic and nonsymbolic representations of number and the role of language in facilitating the transformation from approximate number sense to exact numerical systems in 3- to 5-year old children. The basic research question is as follows: Do developments in symbolic and non-symbolic number systems occur in tandem during the preschool years? Both systems of numerical representation are dynamically changing during this period of early childhood, but the extent to which these developments are correlated and the underlying mechanisms that bind them are currently not known. The following three lines of studies will be investigated: (1) Correlational analysis of symbolic and non-symbolic number representations in preschoolers; (2) Developmental account of numbers in oral-deaf children, and; (3) Developmental account of attentional shifts from objects to sets in young children. Various empirical tests with hypotheses will be conducted annually, including a longitudinal study in the case of study (1). The proposed educational activities include: (1) annual workshops for teachers on number development for both early childhood educators and educators of the deaf; (2) summer fellowship program for undergraduate students; (3) development and teaching of a capstone course at a preschool for the deaf, and; identification of mechanisms to further evaluate and disseminate preschool mathematics programs for deaf to hard-of-hearing children. It is important to know whether deaf children are delayed on preschool-level math skills, because such a delay could entrench otherwise bright children on a path away from optimal mathematical learning in school and other contexts. This knowledge can directly translate into interventions that reduce the well-documented achievement gap between deaf and hearing students in STEM disciplines.
The proposed project will impact STEM education by advancing our knowledge of the foundations of mathematical learning before children enter formal educational settings. The studies will advance our understanding of: (1) how preschool children acquire number concepts; (2) what role language plays in the development of number concepts, and; (3) how language delays impact the development of number concepts. More broadly, the project investigates how symbolic systems (like language) interact with non-symbolic systems (like quantity representations) over the course of development. In addition, this work will provide a much needed analysis of number development in young deaf or hard-of-hearing children because studies of numeracy in the deaf rarely extend to the preschool ages. The proposed work will provide us with a better understanding of conceptual development of number in young children, which hopefully will contribute to the development of appropriate and effective preschool curricula to support future mathematical learning. The proposed project also includes participation by undergraduate researchers and collaborations with early childhood teachers and practitioners.
