6533b873fe1ef96bd12d4c86
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Development of Counting Skills: Role of Spontaneous Focusing on Numerosity and Subitizing-Based Enumeration
Minna M. HannulaPekka RäsänenErno Lehtinensubject
SubitizingGeneral MathematicseducationExploratory researchNumerosity adaptation effectSkill developmentbehavioral disciplines and activitiesDevelopmental psychologyEducationNumeracyEnumerationDevelopmental and Educational PsychologyOrdinal numberSequence learningMathematicsdescription
Children differ in how much they spontaneously pay attention to quantitative aspects of their natural environment. We studied how this spontaneous tendency to focus on numerosity (SFON) is related to subitizing-based enumeration and verbal and object counting skills. In this exploratory study, children were tested individually at the age of 4–5 years on these skills. Results showed 2 primary relationships in children's number skills development. Performance in a number sequence production task, which is closely related to ordinal number sequence without reference to cardinality, is directly associated with SFON. Second, the association of SFON and object counting skills, which require relating cardinal and ordinal aspects of number, is mediated by subitizing-based enumeration. This suggests that there are multiple pathways to enumeration skills during development.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-01-01 | Mathematical Thinking and Learning |