Collaborative Research: Math Cognition In Toddlers From Latino and White families: Contributions Of Home Experiences With Mothers and Fathers

这项拟议中的研究由来自纽约大学、匹兹堡大学和马里兰州大学的一个调查小组领导，将解决美国特定少数民族在STEM领域代表性低的长期问题。在入学之前，孩子们在数学技能方面表现出惊人的个体差异，这可以使他们走上数学成绩或高或低的道路，并参与STEM学科。与非拉丁裔白色儿童相比，来自低社会经济地位家庭的拉丁裔儿童在很大程度上容易受到数学延迟的影响，因此迫切需要研究何时以及为什么会出现这种差距。为此，该项目将研究300拉丁美洲和非拉丁美洲白色幼儿的早期数学技能和他们的关系的数量和质量的数学相关的学习机会，母亲和父亲提供给他们的孩子在日常互动。此外，母亲和父亲的数学能力，对数学的态度，以及对数学对孩子的重要性的信念将被检查，以确定这些因素中的哪些可以解释在家庭中提供数学相关的学习机会的变化。该项目的调查结果将传达给教育工作者、与父母合作的从业人员、社区机构的工作人员和幼儿的父母。该项目由EHR核心研究（ECR）计划资助，该计划支持推进STEM学习基础研究文献，劳动力发展研究和扩大参与研究的工作。该项目的目标是推进早期数学认知和家庭环境方面的科学，这些方面支持三个核心系统的数学学习：（1）近似数系统（ANS），一种不精确的、非符号的数字表示，（2）精确数系统，一种精确的、符号的数字表示，以及（3）空间数学，一种表示形状、空间、和空间物体之间的关系。这些核心的数学系统是整个生命周期中数学认知的基石。这个项目将调查核心的数学技能在幼儿从拉丁美洲和非拉丁美洲白色背景和因素，有助于个体差异。在一个不同种族和社会经济地位的样本中，研究人员将描述来自拉丁美洲和非拉丁美洲白色背景的2至3岁儿童数学认知的个体差异，使用新的视频编码工具和测量记录母亲和父亲的数学相关实践在儿童数学技能中的作用，测试育儿实践与幼儿数学技能之间的关联，并找出解释母亲和父亲数学相关实践差异的因素。该项目将为干预措施的设计提供信息，以支持新兴的数学技能，并解决在STEM相关领域代表性不足的群体成员的参与问题。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The proposed research, led by a team of investigators from New York University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Maryland, will address the persistent problem of low representation of particular US minorities in STEM fields. Already by school entry, children display striking individual differences in math skills that can set them on a path for high or low math performance and participation in STEM disciplines. Latino children, who are disproportionately from low-SES households, are largely vulnerable to delays in math in the school years relative to non-Latino white children, making it urgent to examine when and why this gap emerges. To this end, this project will examine the early math skills of 300 Latino and non-Latino White toddlers and their relation to the quantity and quality of math-related learning opportunities that mothers and fathers provide for their children during everyday interactions. In addition, mothers' and fathers' math abilities, attitudes toward math, and beliefs about the importance of math for children will be examined to determine which of these factors may explain variation in the provision of math-related learning opportunities in the home. Findings of this project will be communicated to educators, practitioners working with parents, staff at community agencies, and parents of young children. The project is funded by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, which supports work that advances the fundamental research literature on STEM learning, research on workforce development, and research on broadening participation. The goals of this project are to advance science on early math cognition and aspects of the home environment that support math learning across three core systems: (1) the approximate number system (ANS), an imprecise, nonsymbolic representation of number, (2) the exact number system, a precise, symbolic representation of number, and (3) spatial math, a system that represents shapes, space, and relations among objects in space. These core systems of math are building blocks to mathematical cognition throughout the lifespan. This project will investigate core math skills in toddlers from Latino and non-Latino white backgrounds and the factors that contribute to individual differences. In a sample varying in ethnicity and SES, investigators will describe individual differences in mathematical cognition in 2- to 3-year-olds from Latino and non-Latino white backgrounds, document the roles of mothers' and fathers' math-related practices in children's math skills using new video coding tools and measure, test associations between parenting practices and toddler math skills, and identify the factors that explain variations in mothers' and fathers' math-related practices. This project will inform the design of interventions to support emerging math skills and address the participation of members of groups underrepresented in STEM related fields.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.