Early-Childhood
Hi Glenda,
I'd be interested to hear how your project progresses, as the role of STM in number skills has been one issue I have become interested in - my main area of research is number skills in children with Down syndrome, and auditory STM is a specific area of weakness for them.
Your question made me think about some of the work I've been involved in and while this is not quite answering your question, I thought you and others on the list might be interested in a scheme we have come across -
Have you come across the Numicon approach to teaching number skills? It has been devised by Tony Wing a maths lecturer at the University of Brighton along with some primary school teachers. The scheme makes use of very visual materials, and the whole teaching structure is connected to the NNS. Tony conducted some research assessing the effectiveness of the scheme which produced positive results. Details of the scheme and the research study can be seen here:
http://www.numicon.com/
http://www.beam.co.uk/pdfs/RES04.pdf
In general the scheme does not make use of much written recording until Year 1, but the materials really allow the children to explore their thinking in a concrete way, and you can see this thinking going on.
I'm just coming to the end of a year long evaluation study of it's use with children with Down syndrome - so far it's looking positive, and reports back from the staff using it in schools is very positive. Some of them have also tried with other children (in mainstream and special schools) who are also struggling with maths, and again reports have been very positive.
Jo
Dr Joanna Nye
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Telephone : +44 (0)23 9285 5330
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The Down Syndrome Educational Trust
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A charity, registered in England and Wales,
number 1062823.
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http://www.downsed.org/
http://www.down-syndrome.info/
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Early childhood academics and practitioners. [mailto:EARLY-
> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Glenda Pennington
> Sent: 19 February 2004 16:40
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [EARLY-CHILDHOOD] National Numeracy Strategy
>
> Early-Childhood
>
> Hi,
> I am hoping someone can point me in the direction of some balanced journal
> articles about the NNS, particularly recent ones. I am a psychologist
> researching short term memory and the development of maths skills in 4-7
> yr olds and I want to incorporate some research about the NNS.
>
> I have the offcial documents from NFER and the govt websites, however,
> every teacher I talk to has an opinion that seems to contradict
> the "official" stance on the effectiveness of the NNS.
>
> While most of the teachers I talk to accept that the NNS does work for the
> most part, it seems that most of them also think that certain parts are
> not working for the children or the teachers.
>
> I am finding that most of the published research is weighed more on the
> positive side, and doesn't provide a balanced view.
> If you have any opinions on this or know of some articles that might be of
> use, then i'd be glad to hear from you.
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