Preschoolers' Subitizing Speed and Accuracy During Interactions With Multitouch Technology

• In Event: Hilton Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: Strategies and Tools for Supporting the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics

Abstract

Technology is often used to support mathematics learning, including subitizing, a foundation of arithmetic. Historically, subitizing research rarely involved children, classroom contexts, or interactions matching the mathematics. This study used multi-level modeling to measure the extent to which preschoolers’ subitizing task speed and accuracy changed over one month of classroom-based interaction with the app Fingu, which involves conceptually congruent gestures. Results include statistically significant increases in response speed and odds of accurate response with repeated task exposure. Girls and younger students had greater odds of responding accurately than boys and older students, respectively. The results imply that repeatedly interacting with Fingu can support development of subitizing. We advocate for investigating and experiencing mathematics in naturalistic settings involving conceptually congruent gestures.

Authors

• Stephen I. Tucker, The University of Queensland

• Michael Broda, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Eric Ekholm, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Teri Nicole Johnson, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Qiao Liang, Virginia Commonwealth University