How Children Learn Mathematics

HOW CHILDREN LEARN
MATHEMATICS
Unit Learning Outcome
After studying this unit, you will be able to
recognize the developmental trends in
learning mathematics concept during early
childhood.
Here are some beliefs about the
child and the ways a child
thinks:
“A child’s mind is like a clean slate to be written
upon.”
“A child’s mind is in totally dark which is to be
illuminated by knowledge.”
“A child is like a lump of clay which can be given
any shape as desired.”
“A child is like a green plant who should be
nurtured.”
“A child’s mind is like an empty pot to be filled in
by knowledge.”
Piaget, the famous Swiss child psychologist, proposed
that child’s thinking begins with two processes:
• perception (the knowledge of objects resulting
from direct contact with them) and
• representation (mental imagery of the perceived
objects).
PRINCIPLES OF PERCEPTION
Adelbert Ames Jrfar, 1938
1. We do not get our perceptions from the objects
around us. Our perceptions come from us. It is not
to belittle the importance of the object but to
highlight the way in which each observer perceives
the object. Numbers are quite fascinating to many
while these are dreaded figures for quite a large
proportion of people including adults and children.
2. What we perceive is largely a function of our
previous experiences, our assumptions and our
purposes or needs.
3. We are unlikely to alter our perceptions until and
unless we are frustrated in our attempts to do
something based on them. If suppose a child has
observed her mother combining two balls of dough
into one and preparing a bread of it, she perceives
it as the addition to be 1+1=2. She is not likely to
change her perception until she has to add one
solid object (like a marble) with another of the kind.
4. Since our perceptions come from us and our past
experiences, it is obvious that each individual will
perceive the same object in a unique way.
Communication is possible only to the extent that
two perceivers have similar purposes,
assumptions, and experience.
5. The meaning of a perception is how it causes us
to act. When it rains, some people run for shelter,
and some enjoy dancing in the rain. Their
perceptions of what is happening are different as
reflected in their actions.
Representation is the process of formation of images
of the objects when the object is not in the field of
direct observation. In this situation, the child requires
to describe the object that is in his/her mind using
language in some form or other. Therefore, language
is called the vehicle of thought.
ACTIVITY 1
Give the name of any one object (say a pencil).
Ask the students to tell whatever that comes to
mind immediately after hearing the name of the
object (each has to tell only one such). List
down the responses of students and observe
the multifarious connotations given by the
students.
Schemas
Piaget claimed that knowledge cannot simply emerge from sensory
experience; some initial structure is necessary to make sense of the world.
According to Piaget, children are born with a very basic mental structure
(genetically inherited and evolved) on which all subsequent learning and
knowledge are based.
In more simple terms Piaget called the schema the basic building
block of intelligent behavior – a way of organizing knowledge.
Indeed, it is useful to think of schemas as “units” of knowledge, each
relating to one aspect of the world, including objects, actions, and abstract
(i.e., theoretical) concepts.
Examples of Schemas
A person might have a schema about buying a meal in a
restaurant. The schema is a stored form of the pattern
of behavior which includes looking at a menu, ordering
food, eating it and paying the bill. This is an example of
a type of schema called a 'script.' Whenever they are in
a restaurant, they retrieve this schema from memory
and apply it to the situation.
The Process of Adaptation
Jean Piaget (1952; see also Wadsworth, 2004) viewed
intellectual growth as a process
of adaptation (adjustment) to the world.
This happens through assimilation,
accommodation, and equilibration.
Assimilation
Piaget defined assimilation as the cognitive process of
fitting new information into existing cognitive
schemas, perceptions, and understanding. Overall
beliefs and understanding of the world do not change as a
result of the new information.
This means that when you are faced with new information, you
make sense of this information by referring to information you
already have (information processed and learned previously)
and try to fit the new information into the information you
already have.
Assimilation
For example, a 2-year-old child sees a man who is bald
on top of his head and has long frizzy hair on the sides.
To his father’s horror, the toddler shouts “Clown,
clown” (Siegler et al., 2003).
Accommodation
Psychologist Jean Piaget defined accommodation as the
cognitive process of revising existing cognitive
schemas, perceptions, and understanding so that new
information can be incorporated. This happens when the
existing schema (knowledge) does not work and needs to be
changed to deal with a new object or situation.
In order to make sense of some new information, you actually
adjust information you already have (schemas you already
have, etc.) to make room for this new information.
Accommodation
For example, a child may have a schema for birds (feathers,
flying, etc.) and then they see a plane, which also flies, but
would not fit into their bird schema.
In the “clown” incident, the boy’s father explained to his son
that the man was not a clown and that even though his hair was
like a clown’s, he wasn’t wearing a funny costume and wasn’t
doing silly things to make people laugh.
With this new knowledge, the boy was able to change his
schema of “clown” and make this idea fit better to a standard
concept of “clown”.
Equilibration
Piaget believed that all human thought seeks order and is
uncomfortable with contradictions and inconsistencies in
knowledge structures. In other words, we seek 'equilibrium' in
our cognitive structures.
Equilibrium occurs when a child's schemas can deal with most
new information through assimilation. However, an unpleasant
state of disequilibrium occurs when new information cannot be
fitted into existing schemas (assimilation).
Equilibration
Piaget believed that cognitive development did not progress at
a steady rate, but rather in leaps and bounds. Equilibration is
the force which drives the learning process as we do not like to
be frustrated and will seek to restore balance by mastering the
new challenge (accommodation).
Once the new information is acquired the process of
assimilation with the new schema will continue until the next
time, we need to make an adjustment to it.

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HOW CHILDREN LEARN

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