Preschool children’s repeating patterning skills: evidence of their capability from a large scale, naturalistic, Australia wide study

ABSTRACT

Patterns are a fundamental component of mathematics, and the patterning ability of young children has been well researched; however, this research has largely been conducted with relatively small cohorts (±70) and in an interventionist way (in laboratory settings or with researchers directly intervening in educational contexts). The current study examines the patterning skills of approximately 3 200 children in a naturalistic setting. As part of a larger, early years’ STEM engagement program, children were provided patterning opportunities across one school term. The data presented here provides information regarding the children’s performance on the tablet-based activities embedded in the program. Findings indicate that 3.5- to 4.5-year-old children were able to copy, extend, insert missing elements, fix, and create patterns, using a range of two, three or four elements pattern structures. These findings, from a large-scale naturalistic setting, confirm some aspects of the existing laboratory-based research, whilst also indicating that some children are more capable in terms of creating patterns than the existing research suggests. These findings have implications for educators when they are planning play-based patterning activities with preschool children.

KEYWORDS:

• Patterns
• play-based learning
• early childhood education
• digital devices
• conceptual development
• STEM
• tablets

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the educators and young children that took part in the ELSA program. Findings discussed in this article are drawn from a larger data set generated in the ELSA project. The ELSA project is funded by the Australian Government.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical clearance

This research received ethical clearance from the University of Canberra, Human Research Ethics Committee. Approval Number 16-237(2 0191647). Informed consent was gained from parents and educators. The photos used in the article form part of the usual reporting procedures of the centres and are used with permission.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kevin Larkin

Kevin Larkin is an Associate Professor (Mathematics Education) at Griffith University. He is a member of several research teams investigating: STEM education in early years education; mathematics education in primary and middle school contexts; and pre-service teacher mathematics education. He has published widely in national and international publications in the areas of mathematics education, digital technologies, early years STEM, higher education, and Activity Theory. He is an editor of the Mathematics Education Research Journal (MERJ) and former Chief Editor of the International Journal for Mathematics Teaching and Learning (IJMTL). He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Senior Fellow of the Griffith Learning and Teaching Academy. He is the inaugural Chapter Chair for the Arts Education and Law Group Learning and Teaching Academy. Kevin has received numerous awards for his teaching including Griffith University Teacher of the Year in 2016, a National Citation for Inspiring Learning in 2017, and the Australian University Teacher of the Year Award in 2018. Prior to working at Griffith University, Kevin had 15 years’ experience as a Primary classroom teacher and 14 years as deputy principal.

Ilyse Resnick

Ilyse Resnick, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Learning Sciences (Cognition) at the University of Canberra, in the STEM Education Resource Centre (SERC). Ilyse was awarded a Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) grant from the Australian Research Council (ARC) for her ‘Building STEM capacity through literacy engagement in spatial reasoning’ project. Ilyse earned her PhD in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at Temple University, as part of the Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center. She then completed an Institute of Education Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Delaware, on cognitive development and applications in educational settings. Ilyse’s program of research identifies and characterizes the fundamental cognitive processes required in complex spatial and numerical reasoning. By characterizing when certain spatial and numerical skills emerge, how they develop, and what specific STEM tasks they support, Ilyse can advance targeted, timely, and empirically driven STEM interventions.

Thomas Lowrie

Tom Lowrie is the Director of the STEM Education Resource Centre (SERC) at the University of Canberra. He was appointed as one of the University’s Centenary Professors in 2014. Tom has an established international research profile in the discipline area of mathematics and STEM education. His concentrated and sustained (over 20 years) body of work has focused on the extent to which primary-aged students use spatial reasoning and visual imagery to solve mathematics problems and the role and nature of graphics in mathematics assessment. More recently, his research has expanded to include students’ use of digital tools and dynamic imagery to solve problems and developing spatial curriculum for primary and secondary classrooms. In the past 5 years, Tom has attracted more than $19.4 million in nationally competitive research projects, including five ARC Discovery Grants, the Early Learning STEM Australia (ELSA) project and a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Government Partnerships for Development Grant. He works closely with industry partners including the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), the World Bank, The Pearson Foundation and a number of education jurisdictions.