Get the best experience in our app
Enjoy offline reading, category favourites, and instant updates - right from your pocket.

To count or not to count?

26th October 2001, 1:00am

Share

To count or not to count?

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/count-or-not-count
Reva Klein on the latest findings

Just because young children know how to count doesn’t mean they know when to count. Children aged four and younger who have a mastery of counting may not have the confidence to use it when the situation demands, or they may not understand that it is required. Instead, they look to other cues, like density or length, to hazard a guess.

When groups of children aged four and five were asked to carry out three tasks which involved working out quantities, those who spontaneously counted tended to be older. When those who didn’t count in the first instance were given encouragement and prompted to do so, they then chose to count, in two exercises studied by researchers at Plymouth University. But those who received no encouragement continued to use their own methods of visual measurements. The implications for early years teachers is that feedback and encouragement have a strong influence on even young children’s use of counting skills.

“Four to five year olds’ spontaneous use of counting as a strategy and the effects of prompting and feedback”, a poster presentation to the British Psychological Society’s Developmental Section by Kirsti Capelin and Michael Fluck, Department of Psychology, University of Plymouth

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read five free articles every month, plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Register with Tes and you can read five free articles every month, plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £4.90 per month

/per month for 12 months

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £4.90 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £4.90 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Recent
Most read
Most shared