This presentation concerns an ongoing project about mathematical communication in preschool. The project aims to understand how talk moves (Kazemi & Hintz, 2014), and different types of questions (Cunningham, 1987; Kilhamn & Liljekvist, 2018) can be used in the teaching of mathematics. This presentation will focus on questions and how these can be used to promote children’s conceptual understanding and collective (Sumpter & Hedefalk, 2015) and creative mathematical reasoning (Lithner, 2008) in a preschool setting. The ability to reason mathematically has been shown to predict later mathematical performance in school (Nunes et al. 2012), and conceptual understanding is needed to be able to reason and communicate about and in mathematics. Children already reason at preschool age, but the development of mathematical reasoning requires teaching from someone who asks questions and helps children make progress (see e.g. Hedefalk et al., 2024).
The four types of questions used in the project are: factual questions, focusing questions, conceptual questions, and evaluative questions (Cunningham, 1987; Kilhamn & Liljekvist, 2018). Factual questions are asked by the preschool teacher when they already know the answer. This type of closed question can be used to introduce a new concept or clarify a concept. For example: “What is this shape called?”, “What is the name of...?” Focusing questions direct the children's attention to something specific. This type of question can be used to find out the child's understanding of a concept. For example: “Can you see a figure that has the same shape?”—while pointing to a circle. Conceptual questions are used by preschool teachers to encourage children to suggest strategies and describe their thinking and reasoning. These questions help move the children's thoughts forward and allow them to verbalise their experiences or solutions. For example: “Could you do it in another way?”, “What happens if…?” Evaluative questions are used to encourage children to justify and argue, to provide evidence for different thoughts and claims. For example: “How come?”, “How do you know that?” The different types of questions have been discussed in research on early childhood mathematics education. However, it appears that preschool teachers primarily use the first two types of questions, that is, closed questions that are more intended to introduce a new concept or direct the children's attention to something than to challenge ideas or develop reasoning (e.g. Björklund & Palmér, 2024; Carlsen, 2013). It can therefore be assumed that asking open-ended questions, such as conceptual and evaluative questions, is something preschool teachers need to practice.
Therefore, one aim of this project is to identify the potential uses of each question type, and to explore and examine how conceptual and evaluative questions can be formulated in relation to specific mathematical domains in preschool. The research question is: 1) How can different types of questions be used as tools to develop children’s mathematical reasoning and understanding of mathematical concepts?
This newly started project is conducted as action research in collaboration with teams of preschool educators from one Swedish preschool. Through multiple cycles of planning (including input from researchers and practising different questions), action, observation, and reflection, we aim to jointly identify effective questions in preschool mathematics. The “action” refers to teaching designed to develop children’s conceptual understanding and mathematical reasoning.
The presentation will reveal preliminary findings, discuss methodological issues and the planned way forward.
ReferencesBjörklund, C., & Palmér, H. (2024). The challenges of mathematizing in Swedish early childhood education. Journal of Early Childhood Education Research, 13(2), 167-186.
Carlsen, M. (2013). Engaging with mathematics in the kindergarten. Orchestrating a fairy tale through questioning and use of tools. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 21(4), 502–513. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2013.845439
Cunningham. R, (1987). What kind of question is that? In W. Wilen (Ed.) Questions, Questioning Techniques, and Effective Teaching, (s. 67-93). National Education Association of the United States.
Hedefalk, M., Sumpter, L., & Eriksson, H. (2024). Matematiska och etiska resonemang i förskolan: didaktisk modellering som intervention. Forskning om undervisning och lärande, 12(2), 68-84.
Kazemi, E. & Hintz, A. (2014). Intentional talk: How to structure and lead productive mathematical discussions. Stenhouse Publishers.
Kilhamn, C. & Liljekvist, Y. (2018). Interaktion i matematikklassrummet. In O. Helenius (Ed), Att bli lärare i matematik. Liber.
Lithner, J. (2008). A research framework for creative and imitative reasoning. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 67(3), 255–276. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-007-9104-2
Nunes, T., Bryant, P., Barros, R., & Sylva, K. (2012). The relative importance of two different mathematical abilities to mathematical achievement. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(1), 136–156.
Sumpter, L., & Hedefalk, M. (2015). Preschool children's collective mathematical reasoning during free outdoor play. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 39, 1-10.
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