Dinnertime Math Conversations between Preschoolers and Their Parents

Öz

Emerging evidence indicate that through sustained conversations with adults in everyday activities, children learn mathematical concepts in real life contexts. The present study was designed to investigate the kinds of math terms and concepts parents and children use and refer to when they engage in math conversations, specifically during dinnertime. The study sample consisted of 25 Turkish parents with children whose ages were between 36 months and 60 months. Participants were asked to audiotape their dinner conversations. All audio recordings were transcribed verbatim, and jointly coded by the researchers through content analysis. The coding schemes were developed specifically for the research context, based on the themes arisen in the conversations and the math categories (shape, size, quantity, number/counting, time) that are outlined by the Ministry of Education in Turkey. The results of the study indicated that majority of the participants’ conversations focused on children’s daily activities and importance of finishing meals. It was also revealed that mathematics concepts were only used or mentioned: (1) when parents asked clarifying questions about their child’s day or the activities they have done at school and (2) during child-initiated conversations. Math language used by the children and parents focused on concepts such as numbers (e.g., counting) and measurement (e.g., time, comparison).

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Early childhood education,Early mathematics,Parent-child conversation

Okul Öncesi Dönem Çocukları ile Ebeveynlerinin Akşam Yemeği Vaktinde Yaptıkları Matematiksel Konuşmalar

Öz

Matematik çok küçük yaşlardan itibaren insan yaşamının önemli bir parçasıdır. Günlük yaşam içerisindeki deneyimlerin birçoğu matematikle bağlantılıdır. Okul öncesi eğitim kurumuna başlamadan önce zamanlarının önemli bir kısmını evde ebeveynleri ile geçiren çocukların matematik ile tanışmalarında ev ortamı deneyimleri önemli bir yere sahiptir. Bu sayede çocuklar okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarına ebeveynlerin öğrettikleri bazı matematik bilgileri ile başlamaktadırlar. Ayrıca kurumda verilen eğitimin evde ebeveynler tarafından desteklenmesi akademik başarı açısından daha iyi sonuçların alınmasına yardımcı olmaktadır. Yaşamın ilk yıllarında ebeveynlerin çocuklarıyla birlikte geçirdikleri nitelikli zamanların ileriki yıllarda çocukların akademik başarılarına büyük etkisi olduğu pek çok araştırma tarafından belirlenmiştir. Bu noktadan hareketle, bu çalışmada ebeveynlerin çocukları ile birlikte geçirdikleri zaman olarak akşam yemeği vakitlerine odaklanılmış ve birlikte yaptıkları konuşmaların matematiksel kavramlar açısından incelemenin önemli olduğu düşünülmüştür.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Erken çocukluk eğitimi,Erken matematik,Ebeveyn-çocuk etkileşimi

Kaynakça

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