[music] >> DR. JEFFREY TRAWICK-SMITH: When you think of teaching math concepts to preschoolers,
you may think of counting exercises or other explicit number activities. But new research
from the Center for Early Childhood Education at Eastern Connecticut State University suggests
that a lot of math learning occurs within the context of classroom play, especially
when teachers are talking with children about how to solve problems involving number. >> Teacher: Want to help me count?
>> Child: One, two, three, four, five. >> Teacher: Five. >> DR. SUDHA SWAMINATHAN: Research
has shown that number sense is very critical in preschool and children are actually developmentally
tuned in to learn number sense in preschool. The more you talk about numbers to children,
the more they learn numbers. >> Teacher: How long do you want the tape?
>> Child: Forty hours. >> Teacher: Forty hours? Or forty pieces?
>> Child: Forty pieces. >> Teacher: Forty pieces? Ok, how many pieces
do you have there? >> Child: One.
>> Teacher: There's one. >> CYNTHIA DEJESÚS (Teacher): I find myself
trying to math talk in every center that I'm in, even at the snack table. How much more
juice do you need? >> Child: Lot.
>> Teacher: A lot more? >> Child: Yeah.
>> Teacher: To make it equal with the water? >> Child: Yeah.
>> Teacher: Let's see. >> CYNTHIA DEJESÚS: How many children are
in the block area? Is there space for you? So just casually using it throughout the day. >> Teacher: Snack and THEN blocks.
>> Child: And then finish my picture >> Teacher: That's three things! >> Teacher: She said snack, THEN blocks, and
THEN finish picture. She told me three things she will do today. >> DR. JEFFREY TRAWICK-SMITH: If teachers
use rich language about math or if they encourage children to kind of talk to themselves or
to others about mathematics, they'll learn more concepts. >> Teacher: How big do you think his house
needs to be? Child: Um, bigger than it wants to be.
Teacher: Ok. >> CYNTHIA DEJESÚS: I try to engage children
using math talk casually, so just modeling the language and the use of numbers: How many
cuts do you need? Is it bigger; is it smaller? >> Teacher: How will you know if he fits in
there? >> Child: He fits in there like this. He just...I
just stick him in the hole. >> Teacher: Alright. Does he fit? Let's
try. >> Teacher: Do we need to make the house a
little bigger? >> Child: mmm...yeah. >> DR. TRAWICK-SMITH: When teachers either
ask questions of children, they encourage them to talk about their mathematical thinking
or how they solve mathematical problems that they also promote mathematical competence. >> DR. SUDHA SWAMINATHAN: Math communication
is not actually part of the curriculum in many other cultures. There's a lot of DOING
math; there's not as much TALK in math. We found communication [related to mathematics]
was significantly important for children. >> Child: Tape more.
>> Teacher: More tape? How much tape do you think you'll need? How long do you want
your piece of tape? >> Child: Long, long, long
>> Teacher: You tell me how long. You tell me when to stop. >> DR. TRAWICK-SMITH: Engaging children in
discussions and activities around number—whether it be counting or judging amounts or how many
spaces to move in a game—those kinds of interactions are very useful for promoting
math learning. >> Child: Piggy!
>> Teacher: What number do I need to get to the pig?
>> Child: Um...one. >> Teacher: You think one? Ok, let's see.
>> Child: No. >> Teacher: What did I get?
>> Child: One, two. >> Teacher: Two. Ready? Count with me.
Together: One, two. >> Teacher: I DID get to the piggy! >> DR. SUDHA SWAMINATHAN: For teachers to
encourage children to talk about say a wrong answer, to talk about a misconception, to
talk about a failed reasoning, those are all very, very valid. >> Cameron: One, two, three, four.
>> Cynthia: Four? >> Cameron: I wanted the cow.
>> Cynthia: You wanted the cow? Well, you had six >> Cameron: Ok, one, two.. >> CYNTHIA DEJESÚS: You really can see how
you can incorporate it everywhere. It becomes part of your classroom lingo and part of your
classroom language. >> Teacher: How many more do you need to add?
>> Child: One, two, three, four, five, six. [music]
