Kindergarten students were pretested on the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills -Revised (ABLLS-R), and Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III).Following testing, the students were randomly assigned to tutoring groups which focused on patterning, reading, mathematics or social studies (control IntroductionPatterning instruction (i.e., instruction focusing on the alternating presentations of colors, shapes, or objects) is traditionally a part of early childhood education. Such instruction begins with simple ababab patterns such as red blue red blue red blue, and becomes increasingly complex. This subject matter has been taught across the USA for the last half-century, and many educators still view it as a necessary foundation for elementary school mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1993; National Association for the Education of Young Children/National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Education, 2002/2010). Patterning is thought to improve young children's understanding of mathematics (Baroody, 1993; Clements &Sarama, 2007, a,b,c; Threfall,1993;Warren, Cooper, & Lamb, 2006); however, empirical evidence that instruction in patterning contributes to young children's understanding of mathematics is sparse.The limited research supporting the importance of patterning instruction for children's mathematical development includes a recent longitudinal study done by Fyfe, Rittle-Johnson, Hofer and Farren (2015). Significant regression coefficients (.17-.18) were found between children's performance on patterning measures as preschoolers and their performance on a mathematical composite score. Another correlational study done by White, Alexander, and Daugherty (1998) found a strong correlation (.56) between preschoolers' ability to extend alternating patterns and their scores on analogical reasoning as measured by the Georgia Kindergarten Assessment Program (GKAP). Both of these studies support the conclusion that an early understanding of alternating patterns is related to later mastery of mathematics. However, there was no instructional component to these studies, and correlational studies alone cannot prove causality. A more direct approach is to instruct children in patterning and to then measure the resulting benefits on mathematical ability.

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The effects of instructing kindergarten students (five-year-olds in their first year of public school) on patterning were tested. Up to nine students in each class were randomly assigned to three groups in each of six classes, i.e., as many as three from a class in each group.. One group received instruction on complex patterns similar to those employed by other researchers with first graders. Another group was instructed in early literacy, and another in early mathematics. For each group, the experimental instruction was scheduled in a counterbalanced order for 15 minutes in the morning, five days per week for most of the school year.. When tested in late May-early June, the children taught patterning scored significantly better on a test of patterning. There were no significant differences on tests of mathematics and early literacy. However there were correlations between the children's patterning scores and some literacy scales.

The effects of instructing kindergarten students (five-year-old in their first year of public school) on patterning were tested. Up to nine students in each class were randomly assigned to three groups in each of six classes, i.e., as many as three from a class in each group. One group received instruction on complex patterns similar to those employed by other researchers with first graders. Another group was instructed in early literacy, and another in early mathematics. For each group, the experimental instruction was scheduled in a counterbalanced order for 15 minutes in the morning, five days per week for most of the school year. When tested in late May-early June, the children taught patterning scored significantly better on a test of patterning. There were no significant differences on tests of mathematics and early literacy. However, there were correlations between the children's patterning scores and some literacy scales.