3-227 - Relational Language and Math: Variation Across Types of Language and Math Activities

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Language is an important predictor of mathematical skill, from basic numeracy (Toll & van Luit, 2014) to word problems (Wang, Fuchs, & Fuchs, 2016). Furthermore, much of this language is relational: more/less, before/after, bigger/smaller, and relational language is known to help children attend to the specified relation (Loewenstein & Genter, 2005). Thus, all four talks in this symposium are motivated by the idea that relational language is critical for children’s math learning, but each approaches this broad topic from a unique perspective.
The first two talks provide insight into this relation by taking a closer look at different kinds of mathematics (Talk 1) and different kinds of relational language (Talk 2). Talk 1 shows that both numerical relations and basic number skills mediate the relation between relational language and math achievement. Talk 2 shows that mathematical language can be separated into two factors: numerical (e.g., more) and spatial+ordinal (e.g., above, before), and only numerical language uniquely predicts numeracy. The last two talks look more closely at children’s production of relational language while engaging in geometric patterning (Talk 3) and an ordinal number activity (Talk 4). Interestingly, both talks highlight the role of ordinal language (e.g., next) in these kinds of spatially organized mathematics activities.
Overall, this symposium highlights that although there is a clear relation between relational language and mathematics, the variation in both relational language and mathematics is critical for more deeply understanding the nuances of this relation, an important next step for developing targeted interventions and instructional activities.

Sub Unit

• Cognitive Processes

Chair

• Michelle A Hurst, University of Chicago

Individual Presentations

• Early Numeracy Skills Mediate the Association Between Relational Language and Mathematical Skills - Presenting Author: Jenny Yun-Chen Chan, University of Minnesota; Non-Presenting Author: Maria Sera, University of Minnesota; Non-Presenting Author: Michele Mazzocco, University of Minnesota

• The Structure of Mathematical Language Skills During Preschool and its Relation to Numeracy Skills - Presenting Author: David Purpura, Purdue University; Non-Presenting Author: Caroline Byrd Hornburg, Purdue University; Non-Presenting Author: Sara Schmitt, Purdue University

• Caregiver and Child Spatial Language and Children’s Spatial Skills - Presenting Author: Marianella Casasola, Cornell University; Non-Presenting Author: Christina Hogan, Cornell University; Non-Presenting Author: Ashley Ransom, Cornell University

• Quantity and Variety of Children’s Relational Language During a Semi-Structured Counting Activity - Presenting Author: Michelle A Hurst, University of Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Abrea Greene, University of Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Taylor Praus-Singh, University of Minnesota; Non-Presenting Author: Sarah H. Eason, University of Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Michele Mazzocco, University of Minnesota; Non-Presenting Author: Amy Claessens, University of Wisconsin; Non-Presenting Author: Susan C. Levine, University of Chicago