3-152 - Supports for Facilitating Parent-Child Math Engagement During Home Activities

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Early home experiences contribute to children’s math knowledge when entering school, and this is partly attributed to opportunities for children to engage in math talk with family members, which is also linked to math knowledge (e.g., Purpura et al., 2017). Yet, there is variation in the math talk young children are exposed to at home (e.g., Levine et al., 2010). Building supports into activities and materials used by families may facilitate parent-child math engagement and increase children’s math learning. The studies in this symposium explore potential approaches to enhancing parent-child math talk during joint activities. Study 1 examines how varying characteristics of shape puzzles may influence parent-child attention to shape features, and reveals that some puzzles elicit more in-depth discussions of shapes, which may support children’s conceptual geometry knowledge. Study 2 evaluates the effectiveness of embedding dialogic reading prompts into math-focused storybooks for increasing parent and child spontaneous questions during book reading, and finds that prompts indeed result in more parent and child questions, particularly for dual language learners. Finally, Study 3 examines how parents use statements and prompts about number when provided with numeracy-related tips during cooking, and looks at how these facets of parent number talk relate to children’s own number talk.

Together, these studies showcase how activities that parents already do with children – everyday activities such as cooking, book-reading, and play – can be enhanced with small changes or additions to the activity materials. Next steps in research examining how to promote math engagement will be discussed.

Sub Unit

• School Readiness/Childcare

Chair

• Sarah H. Eason, University of Chicago

Discussant

• Susan C. Levine, University of Chicago

Individual Presentations

• How Do Puzzle Features Influence Parent and Child Spatial Talk? - Presenting Author: Sarah H. Eason, University of Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Kassie Kerr, University of Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Michelle A Hurst, University of Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Amy Claessens, University of Wisconsin; Non-Presenting Author: Susan C. Levine, University of Chicago

• Enhancing Spontaneous Interactive Questions by Parents and Children During Mathematics Storybook Reading - Presenting Author: David Purpura, Purdue University; Non-Presenting Author: Melody Kung, Purdue University; Non-Presenting Author: Sara Schmitt, Purdue University; Non-Presenting Author: Jennifer Dobbs-Oates, Purdue University; Non-Presenting Author: Yemimah King, Purdue University; Non-Presenting Author: Amy R. Napoli, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Non-Presenting Author: Emily Rolan, Purdue University; Non-Presenting Author: Meg Becker, Purdue University

• Contemporaneous and Longer-Term Associations between Parents' and Young Children's Number Talk - Presenting Author: Ariadne Nelson, Boston College; Non-Presenting Author: Lindsay Clements, Boston College; Non-Presenting Author: Hope Dragelin, Boston College; Non-Presenting Author: Meghan L. Coughlan, Boston College; Non-Presenting Author: Eric Dearing, Boston College