The utility of written numerals for preschool children when solving additive problems / La utilidad de los numerales escritos en la resolución de problemas aditivos en niños preescolares
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online March, 2015
The utility of written numerals for preschool children when solving additive problems / La utilidad de los numerales escritos en la resolución de problemas aditivos en niños preescolares
The purpose of this study was to determine the impact the presence conventional written numerals has on solving additives problems. We asked 45 children (aged four and five) to solve ten different 5 + 3 type problems by adding tokens that were placed into an opaque box in view of the children. The participants’ performance in counting, recognizing written numerals and solving a number conservation task were assessed. The results suggest that the presence of written numerals facilitated children’s ability to perform additive operations: they were able to use these numerals as a reference to calculate the amount of tokens added, even those who had not shown good quantitative judgement in the number conservation task. Identifying preschoolers’ possible reliance on written numerals could eventually influence formal teaching conditions.
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