Beth Poss possbeth@gmail.com @dcmcitp @possbeth Exploration of Apps and other Resources for Supporting Play and Problem Solving in Young Children in UDL Early Learning Environments Beth Poss possbeth@gmail.com @dcmcitp @possbeth

We want to hear from you! At the end of the webinar, please take a few minutes to fill out our brief survey. If you would like a Certificate of Participation for this webinar, just enter your email address at the end of the survey. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CTD-LC Thanks!

Which activity is more engaging?

Which activity supports development of mathematics understanding?

Which activity encourages problem solving?

Week 3 Learning Outcomes To explore developmentally appropriate apps and other media resources that support the development of play and problem solving in young children in alignment with best practices in media use of young children. To integrate mobile technology into a Universally Designed for Learning early learning environment.

The Relationship Between Play, Teacher-Child Interactions, and Math Ability The more you talk about numbers to children, the more they learn numbers. When children talk about math, they talk about the processes, and teachers can facilitate this. When teachers support children’s play, and they support it in a way that really is aligned with what children are currently doing, this is a good fit play reaction. Good-fit play interactions were associated with increases in mathematical thinking.

Position Statement from NAEYC and NCTM The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) affirm that high-quality, challenging, and accessible mathematics education for 3- to 6-year-old children is a vital foundation for future mathematics learning. In every early childhood setting, children should experience effective, research-based curriculum and teaching practices. NAEYC--National Association for the Education of Young Children NCTM--National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

To achieve high-quality mathematics education for 3- to 6-year-old children, teachers and other key professionals should: Provide ample time, materials, and teacher support for children to engage in play, a context in which they explore and manipulate mathematical ideas with keen interest

To achieve high-quality mathematics education for 3- to 6-year-old children, teachers and other key professionals should: Enhance children’s natural interest in mathematics and their disposition to use it to make sense of their physical and social worlds

Foundational Skills for Mathematical Proficiency counting data analysis measurement number operations number sense pattern sets shape spatial relationships

Big Ideas in Early Mathematics Instruction Sets: Attributes can be used to sort collections into sets The same collection can be sorted in different ways Sets can be compared and ordered

Number Sense Quantity is an attribute of a set of objects, and we use number to name specific quantities The quantity of a small collection can be intuitively perceived without counting

Counting Counting can be used to find out how many in a collection Counting has rules that apply to any collection Phase 1: Stable Order Phase 2: One-to-One Correspondence Phase 3: Order Irrelevance Phase 4: Cardinality

Number Operations Sets can be changed by adding items or taking some away Sets can be compared using the attribute of numerosity and ordered by more than, less than and equal to A quantity (whole) can be decomposed into equal or unequal parts; the parts can be composed to form the whole

Pattern Patterns are sequences (repeating or growing) governed by a rule; they exist both in the world and in mathematics. Identifying the rule of a pattern brings predictability and allows us to make generalizations. The same pattern can be found in many different forms.

Shape Shapes can be defined and classified by their attributes Shapes can be combined and separated (composed and decomposed) to make new shapes

Piaget was Wrong… (video) Children have an innate number sense Math skills in kindergarten predict third-grade test scores in both reading and math Piaget suggested that infants are born with no understanding of numerosity, which is the ability to discriminate arrays of objects on the basis of the quantity of items presented—for example, being aware of that a quantity of two is different than a quantity of three. Early Piaget experiments (Piaget 1942) described infants' lack of numerosity as a poor perception of quantity conservation. However, recent experiments have shown that infants between ages of 4 and 7 ½ months are able to discriminate two items from three items, but not 4 items from 6 items (Starkley et al. 1983). In particular, 7-month old infants were presented with two photographs of two or three items accompanied with two or three drumbeats. The infants looked longer at the photos with the number of items matching the number of drumbeats, indicating intuition of quantities up to 3 or 4 and suggesting at the same time that this ability for numerosity abstraction is neither visually nor auditory based (Geary 1994). Other experiments, conducted independently, showed that 10 to 12-month old infants could discriminate 3 from 4 items and, sometimes, 4 to 5 items (Strauss & Curtis 1981). http://web.media.mit.edu/~stefanm/society/som_final.html

Encouraging Mathematical Thinking through Play Recognize and label measurable attributes of objects Notice and copy simple repeating patterns Use shapes to create an object or picture See and label with the correct number patterned collections Compare and sort according to attributes Group objects by amount Differentiate quantity Understand that numbers can be composed and decomposed in a variety of ways Understand that shapes can be composed and decomposed in a variety of ways

What Makes an Effective Early Childhood App? Open ended to support play and problem solving Promotes concept development, literacy, and language through play and exploration Include rich, engaging activities that invite a high degree of interactivity and control by the user Encourages movement--fine and gross motor Enhances and encourages interactions with adults or peers, rather than promoting solitary exploration Culturally diverse/free of stereotypes Meets a developmental need

Pattern Blocks Illuminations--Patch Tool (online interactive, not an app) Patterns Shapes can be made from other shapes Shapes can be rotated and flipped Supports students with motor needs--the snap together tool, clicks to flip or rotate

Wood Blocks Wood Blocks for Kids App

Drawing Pad stickers stamps variety of drawing tools and papers vocabulary of math with drawing:long, short, wide, skinny, direction words ability to flip and resize objects import in pictures from camera move objects to create and recreate sets

Toca Boca Robots--STEM design choices experimentation positional concepts trial and error test hypothesis examine results

More Toca Boca: Toca Band Let’s brainstorm what skills can be developed or practiced with this app? patterns can be repeated add and take away

Nothing in this presentation requires technology Nothing in this presentation requires technology...almost everything can be done using technology A UDL early learning environment provides opportunity for learning with flexible materials, driven by individual preferences and a wide variety of options with which to engage Utilize the resources that engage the child--Universal Design for Learning and the power or child driven instruction

Discussion Questions Participants will answer the following questions and respond to at least 2 of your peers: How can you integrate apps for play and problem solving into your early learning environment? How do you determine what tools and resources are used for enhancement of learning and what tools are required as assistive technology?

Instructional Activity— What I Want and Why Create a wish list, with justifications for purchase of each item, in relationship to the content of the course and best practices in use of mobile technology with young children, of the technology tools and resources you would like to have in your Universally Designed for Learning early learning environment.

We want to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to fill out our brief survey! If you would like a Certificate of Participation for this webinar, just enter your email address at the end of the survey. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CTD-LC Thanks!

Resources Erikson Early Math Collaborative Nrichs Maths Early Years NAEYC and NCTM Position Statement Big Ideas of Early Mathematics from The Early Math Collaborative (Pearson, The Erikson Early Math Collaborative) It’s Just Math http://web.media.mit.edu/~stefanm/society/som_final.html The Relationship Between Play, Teacher-Child Interactions, and Math Ability: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEdWdE0I6r8