ERIC Number: EJ1125420
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1934-5747
EISSN: N/A
Causal Connections between Mathematical Language and Mathematical Knowledge: A Dialogic Reading Intervention
Purpura, David J.; Napoli, Amy R.; Wehrspann, Elizabeth A.; Gold, Zachary S.
Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, v10 n1 p116-137 2017
The acquisition of early mathematical knowledge is critical for successful long-term academic development. Mathematical language is one of the strongest predictors of children's early mathematical success. Findings from previous studies have provided correlational evidence supporting the importance of mathematical language to the development of children's mathematics skills, but there is limited causal evidence supporting this link. To address this research gap, 47 Head Start children were randomly assigned to a mathematical language intervention group or a business-as-usual group. Over the course of eight weeks, interventionists implemented a dialogic reading intervention focused on quantitative and spatial mathematical language. At posttest, students in the intervention group significantly outperformed the students in the comparison group not only on a mathematical language assessment, but on a mathematical knowledge assessment as well. These findings indicate that increasing children's exposure to mathematical language can positively affect their general mathematics skills. This study is an important first step in providing causal evidence of the importance of early mathematical language for children's general mathematical knowledge and the potential for mathematical language interventions to increase children's overall mathematics abilities.
Descriptors: Mathematics Skills, Intervention, Preschool Children, Disadvantaged Youth, Comparative Analysis, Evidence, Language Usage, Mathematics Instruction, Predictor Variables, Mathematics Achievement, Correlation, Dialogs (Language), Reading Instruction, Spatial Ability, Statistics, Pretests Posttests, Attribution Theory, Mathematics Tests, Graduate Study
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Expressive One Word Picture Vocabulary Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
What Works Clearinghouse Reviewed: Meets Evidence Standards with Reservations
WWC Study Page: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/study/89962