Maple Bear Global Schools

Grade/Year 1
How Children Learn Mathematics

How Children Learn Mathematics

By A. C. Burris — Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall
Updated on July 20, 2010

Suppose you were told that you must learn the “fact” ΩTM∂_. How would you learn it? You
would probably need to repeat the sequence to yourself several times before you would be
able to reproduce it without looking at it. Are all of the symbols used familiar to you? If not,
you might make connections between unfamiliar symbols and objects that are familiar to
you, perhaps calling Ω “horseshoe” or calling ∂ “backward six.” Without some logic or
meaning to the sequence of symbols, it would be difficult to commit this sequence to memory
for more than a short period.

Constructivism and Conceptually Based Mathematics

Constructivism is a view of learning influenced by the works of Brownell, Piaget, Vygotsky,
Dienes, and Bruner that asserts that children build or construct their own knowledge by
integrating new concepts and procedures into existing mental structures. Children must
create or recreate mathematical relationships in their own minds. For example, before a child
learns the value of various U.S. coins, the child may believe that a nickel is more valuable than
a dime because of the relative sizes of the coins. Once the child has assimilated the idea of
coin value and has learned that a nickel is worth five cents while a dime is worth ten cents,
the child will agree that a dime has more value than a nickel. To process information, one
must interpret it in relation to what is already known or believed. Children should be active
in the learning experience in order to fully internalize the experience. Teachers who use the
constructivist method of teaching encourage discovery learning and active experimentation
by their students. With constructivism the emphasis is not on teaching, but on learning. Even
very young children are capable of constructing mathematics concepts and algorithms (Cobb,
1994; Kamii & Ewing, 1996).

Procedural Learning and Conceptual Learning

Various mathematics educators have compared two types of learning: procedural learning
and conceptual learning (Hiebert & Lindquist, 1990; Skemp, 1971). Procedural learning
involves learning processes or algorithms by rote. You may have learned how to divide one
fraction by another by learning a rule like, invert the divisor and multiply. Conceptual
learning involves understanding the concepts and meanings underlying the operations as
opposed to merely applying rules. The main tenet of conceptually based mathematics is that
when students understand the concepts and reasoning underlying a process, they are more
likely to be able to correctly apply that process. They are also more likely to be able to apply
that process in learning related new skills and procedures. Let’s use the example 3 × 5 = 15
to illustrate these ideas.

1
 Maple Bear Global Schools
Grade/Year 1
How Children Learn Mathematics

Three Levels of Representation of Knowledge
You probably do not recall learning that three times five is fifteen. This is a fact that you
learned at approximately the second- or third-grade level. Yet you are able to retain this fact
in your memory. Why? For one thing, this fact has been used hundreds, maybe thousands of
times in your everyday life. Also, the symbols used in the representation of this fact (3 × 5 =
15) are familiar to you. Most important, the fact makes sense. If you were to combine 3 piles
of 5 blocks each, you would have a pile of 15 blocks—which explicitly shows that three times
five is fifteen.

In learning this particular fact, you probably did not begin with the symbolic representation
3 × 5 = 15. You may have begun with a concrete representation such as the 3 piles of 5
blocks. Many elementary textbooks introduce addition or multiplication facts pictorially. For
this particular example an elementary textbook might show a picture of 3 rows with 5 blocks
in each row, and ask “How many blocks in all?” Skip counting can be used to see that in the 3
sets of 5 blocks there are 5, 10, 15 blocks in all. The fact 3 × 5 = 15 makes sense. Research
indicates that, as this example illustrates, human beings tend to represent knowledge in
basically three ways (Bruner, 1964; Piaget, 1952).

• Concrete: The key component of the concrete level of representation is the performance of
an action on an object or objects. At the concrete level, students use hands-on
manipulatives to physically arrive at the solution. Consider the following problem:
“My three dogs each have five fleas. How many fleas do they have all together?” A
student at the kindergarten or first-grade level might solve this problem by first
setting out three paper plates or three pages of paper to represent three dogs. They
could then distribute five counters or “fleas” to each “dog” to solve the problem. The
solution described above would be possible only in a classroom where hands-on
experimentation was encouraged. The idea of using plates or papers to represent dogs
and counters to represent fleas shows great imagination and creativity on the part of
the student.

• Pictorial: At the pictorial level of representation the child no longer needs to physically
manipulate objects to solve problems such as the one given above. The student may
solve such a problem by drawing a picture of three dogs and drawing five fleas on
each dog. In some elementary textbooks, several pictures are already drawn and the
student is asked to choose the picture that matches a given problem situation. Often in
a disposable textbook, part of a picture is drawn and the student is instructed to
complete the drawing and use it to solve the given problem. The student may also
solve the problem mentally by visualizing three sets of five and counting.

2
 Maple Bear Global Schools
Grade/Year 1
How Children Learn Mathematics

• Symbolic: At the symbolic level of representation the student has acquired enough
experience with the given problem type to represent it symbolically without using
concrete operations or pictures or images. For the dog and flea problem discussed

above, the student would merely write or state that 3 × 5 = 15.

When encountering a new problem type, students will need experiences at the concrete and
pictorial levels before they are introduced to the symbolic representation of the problem.
The

concrete and pictorial experiences let the student acquire meaning for the concepts and
operations involved in the problem. Many activities use a combination of the three levels of
representation described. Students often use pictures as concrete objects, combining the
levels concrete and pictorial. The pictorial level is combined with the symbolic or abstract
level when students use pictures to arrive at an answer and then write or state a
corresponding equation.

Three Types of Learning Experiences

The type of learning experience or activity that you choose to use will depend on the
objective of the activity or experience. We will focus on three types of learning experiences.

• Developmental: Developmental activities are used to develop new ideas and introduce
new concepts. Developmental activities should be conceptually based; the students
should be able to acquire meaning for the concepts and operations that they are
learning. These activities should be designed and presented in a way that will make
the math understandable to the students.

• Reinforcement: These activities are used to reinforce previously introduced skills and
concepts. You may use developmental activities or modified developmental activities
as reinforcement activities. You may also find or develop new activities to use as
reinforcement activities.

• Drill and practice: Drill and practice activities are used to practice or memorize
previously learned skills, procedures, and

concepts. When many people hear the phrase “drill and practice,” they immediately
think “flash cards.” Although you may use flash cards in drill and practice activities,
these are not your only option.

3
 Maple Bear Global Schools
Grade/Year 1
How Children Learn Mathematics

• These activities should not be boring. Pick activities that will engage the students. You can
use contests, challenges, games, problems where the solution provides the answer to
a riddle, and many other fun activities.

The type of learning experience or activity that you choose to use at a particular time will
depend on your objectives at that time. Some activities fit more than one category. To classify
an activity, consider your main objective or intent. An activity that is intended to introduce
concept A is a developmental activity even if it reinforces concept B and contains practice in
skill C. For example, suppose you wish to introduce the idea of calculating the value of a pile
of coins containing two different types of coins. This developmental activity reinforces the
value of a single coin and contains practice in the skill of skip counting.

In many cases, you will find appropriate activities to accomplish your objectives within the
teacher’s manual of your textbook series, in activity manuals that you have available, or in an
activity file that you have created. In some cases you will need to modify a given activity so
that it better suits your purposes. You may even create activities or learning experiences of
your own to serve a certain purpose.