Exploring Kindergarten Mathematics Instruction: A Survey of Teachers' Instructional Practices and Resources

• In Event: Roundtable Session 51
  In Roundtable Session: Research in Early Childhood Mathematics Education

Abstract

Early success in mathematics is linked to later academic success, however much of the research currently available for examining the prevalence and appropriateness of instructional practices for supporting students’ mathematical understanding has used teacher self-report data from large scale data sets. In this study we surveyed and conducted a focus group with kindergarten teachers to obtain information about the context of kindergarten mathematics instruction, to collect data about teachers’ espoused instructional behaviors, and to examine whether teachers’ ratings of confidence and/or importance of specific mathematical representations and instructional behaviors are related to the frequency of their use. Findings indicated low to moderate correlations between teachers’ ratings of confidence, importance, and frequency of use of representations and instructional behaviors.

Authors

• Deni L. Basaraba, Bethel School District 52

• Leanne R. Ketterlin-Geller, Southern Methodist University

• Erica Simon, Southern Methodist University