Teachers’ perceptions of early math concepts learned from unit blocks: A cross-cultural comparison

Spatial Skills Associated With Block-Building Complexity in Preschoolers

“…Our correlation results of form perception and block-building ability shows that block building relies on children's growing understanding of topological and geometrical knowledge (Hanline et al, 2001) and figure abstraction (Caldera et al, 1999). The more children know about wooden unit blocks containing a variety of shapes (Hsieh and Mccollum, 2018), the more they can manipulate different shapes, and the more complex their patterns of block building become (Stannard et al, 2001). Our quantitative results are consistent with Park et al (2008) qualitative analysis that found three major actions (i.e., categorizing geometric shapes, composing a larger shape with smaller shapes, and transforming shapes) in free play with wooden unit blocks.…”

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of Early Mathematics Pedagogies in the Context of Unit Block Play

“…(HK teacher 223P) development is more important than mathematical development for preschool children (Benz, 2012;Hachey, 2013;Lee & Ginsburg, 2009) Insufficient training in teaching early math might result in weighing other areas as more important. The majority of teachers naturally referred to their major roles during unit block play as a mediator for solving conflicts and promoting social interaction may be due to the lack of professional knowledge of and experience on supporting children's math learning in unit block play (Hsieh & McCollum, 2018;Kersh, Casey, & Young, 2008). According to the demographic data, only two teachers from each site had received related training about early math education.…”

“…As one of the most popular activities in early childhood settings, unit block play provides children with a variety of opportunities to learn and practice their mathematical skills (Casey & Bobb, 2003;Trawick-Smith, Swaminathan, & Liu, 2016). However, simply using unit blocks for free play that is unsupported by teachers may not always promote children' math learning (Balfanz, Ginsburg, & Greenes, 2003;Casey et al, 2008;Hsieh & McCollum, 2018), especially for achieving some specific learning objectives (Weiberg, Hirsh-Pasek, Golinkoff, Kittredge, & Klahr, 2016).…”

The relationship between preschool teachers pedagogical content knowledge in mathematics, childrens' math ability and liking

“…Thus, children's mathematical skills develop over time. Considering that children's mathematical skills relate directly to the quality of their early childhood education (Hsieh & McCollum, 2018), mathematics-based activities in preschool mathematics education and the relevant curricula are paramount in revealing children's abilities in this area (Clements & Sarama, 2014;Erdoğan, 2006). Academic studies have revealed that children who are unable to acquire basic maths skills during the preschool period may experience difficulties in mathematics throughout their subsequent learning years (Clements & Sarama, 2010;Toll et al, 2011), which places on the importance of the learning experiences provided during preschool (Shamir & Baruch, 2012).…”

“…NCTM (2000) indicated that both mathematics curricula and teaching practices should be constructed on a pedagogically sound basis by taking into account both the maths content areas and the children's developmental characteristics. Thus, teachers' knowledge levels and skills about math education are deemed critical for the preparation of appropriate curricula for children, both in terms of supporting children's mathematics development and in their developing a positive attitude towards mathematics (Copley, 2010;Hsieh & McCollum, 2018).…”