Math at the Museum: Re-visioning Early Math Learning Through a CHAT Lens

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 9:45 am - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Informal Learning Environments as Spaces for Building Mathematical and Computational Thinking Skills

Abstract

In this study, we explored how 4- to 6-year-olds engaged with mathematical ideas during a summer program bridging classroom and museum spaces. Wearing small GoPro cameras, children captured their own perspectives as they played, moved, talked, and made sense of their world. Guided by Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), our analysis highlighted moments of counting, comparing, tool repurposing, and social negotiation. While children often reimagined tasks in creative, embodied ways, their classroom mathematics rarely traveled with them into informal settings. These findings invite us to rethink how learning emerges—and how we might design environments that recognize and honor children’s ways of knowing.

Authors

• Mandy Dunphy, Baylor University

• Tracey R. Jones, Baylor University

• Sandra B. Cooper, Baylor University

• Margeaux Smith, Baylor University

• Andrea Martinez, Baylor University

• Michelle Donner, Baylor University

• Krystle Moos, Baylor University