A new book released in August 2018 from the Collaborative examines the connections and questions that arise from discussing math experiences in early childhood settings and the research into children’s mathematical learning. Growing Mathematical Minds documenta importantes investigaciones con los principales estudiosos de la psicología del desarrollo junto con las maestras y maestros de los salones de clases que trabajan actualmente en este campo. Crea un debate entre estos grupos, con la esperanza de crear una comprensión compartida que a menudo falta entre la investigación y la práctica.

Editado por Jennifer McCray y Jie-Qi Chen del Instituto Erikson y Janet Eisenband Sorkin, de la Universidad de Chicago, el libro es único en su formato y ambicioso en su objetivo de suscitar una conversación interdisciplinar.

Hablamos con la Dra. Jennifer McCray de su experiencia en la elaboración de este libro.

How much does a classroom teacher in, say, kindergarten or 1st grade benefit from knowing the research behind the topic they are teaching? Why isn’t it enough just to be told what best practices are?

The answer to this question goes directly to the nature of teaching and learning: what is it? In our view at Erikson, teaching and learning is an interactive exchange of information and ideas that results in the development of new understandings and knowledge. Just conveying information is not sufficient for the excellent educator. Students (children) need structured opportunities to employ ideas and conduct experiments related to what they are learning if they are to “believe in” the end result. If the learning experience requires this kind of engagement, then it follows that the teacher must be an artist—creative—able to take in information about what learners currently know and understand, and find powerful ways to link that to the ideas they wish to convey. This, in turn, requires that teachers be excellent observers of young children. The very young are not good at telling you exactly what they know about and understand; that kind of meta-cognition is beyond them. So coming to the learning situation with some ideas about what course the content follows allows a teacher to adjust and elaborate on the fly. If you understand more about the process children go through as their thinking develops, you are better equipped to support different stages of their learning.

Part of what the book does is allow everyone (researchers and psychologists included) to hear teachers’ voices directly. What part of the research raises the most challenges for teachers? What important teaching questions should the next round of studies address?

¿Cómo se benefician los investigadores y los psicólogos del desarrollo de un debate como el que se encuentra en el libro? ¿Qué pueden aprender de las maestras y maestros de los salones de clases sobre las matemáticas tempranas?

Researchers and developmental psychologists who are interested in early math learning want the knowledge they generate to be useful to teachers. Part of what the book does is allow everyone (researchers and psychologists included) to hear teachers’ voices directly. What part of the research raises the most challenges for teachers? What important teaching questions should the next round of studies address?

Which chapter or topic did you personally learn the most from that you didn’t already know?

I learned the most about gesture and math learning—I was lucky to work with Mary Hynes-Berry on our team and to interview Susan Goldin-Meadow of the University of Chicago about this topic. This research is so new, and so startling. For example, the fact that when children are on the cusp of being able to “conserve” quantity, they are often able to show their understanding in their gestures prior to being able to do so in language. This finding has lots of important implications for how teachers assess children, but it also suggests that gesture provides an additional “pipeline” to what the mind is capable of. The further finding that how teachers gesture as they teach mathematics makes an impact on what children learn is clearly also fundamental, and probably needs further study.

¿Recomendaría a una maestra o maestro que leyera este libro como introducción a las matemáticas tempranas, que lo leyera como complemento de otra cosa, o que lo leyera después de aprender los fundamentos de las matemáticas tempranas como se encuentra en Big Ideas of Early Mathematics: What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know?

I think the book is useful for the teacher who wants to push herself, to learn more. Most early childhood teachers have little exposure to this kind of research — it is “mind-expanding” stuff. It could be very useful for teachers who are interested in “action research; ” that is, in thoughtfully planning and trying out different interventions in their classrooms to see what will happen as a result, and documenting and sharing their results. No, it should not be an introduction to early mathematics. It is for the teacher who wants to grow beyond that.

This research is so new, and so startling. For example, the fact that when children are on the cusp of being able to “conserve” quantity, they are often able to show their understanding in their gestures prior to being able to do so in language. This finding has lots of important implications for how teachers assess children, but it also suggests that gesture provides an additional “pipeline” to what the mind is capable of.

Habiendo sido tanto educadora de educación infantil como investigadora, ¿cuáles crees que son los mayores conceptos erróneos sobre ambas funciones?

I’m not sure that most researchers understand the passion, dedication, and creativity that make an excellent early childhood teacher. People who dedicate their lives to working directly with young children have to have patience, energy, and stamina, but many of them are also brilliant, intuitive, and extremely thoughtful. Because of this, these teachers can be an important resource for researchers who want their work to improve teaching and learning. By the same token, I don’t believe most teachers understand how often the things that drive researchers to understand how children learn are driven by a real desire to improve teaching and learning for all children. Most researchers desperately hope their work will find useful application, but practice itself is not their strength, so they focus on what they can do well. And really, that’s what we all must do. The important thing is that we keep talking to one another, so that the good work we do can be shared.

Growing Mathematical Minds

Disponible ahora

Nuestro último libro Growing Mathematical Minds abarca la investigación y la práctica. Traducimos la investigación sobre las matemáticas tempranas desde la psicología del desarrollo en términos que sean significativos para las maestras y los maestros y que se puedan aplicar fácilmente en los salones de clases de educación infantil.

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