Collaborative Research: A Multi-Lab Investigation of the Conceptual Foundations of Early Number Development

学前数学能力是STEM学习和长期学业成功的重要基础。先前的研究表明，强大的计算技能的发展取决于感知、认知和语言技能的结合。然而，过去的大多数研究都集中在美国城市地区相对较小且同质的儿童群体上。因此，目前对早期计算能力的理解可能无法推广到不同的学习者群体。家庭语言背景、社会经济地位、地理和跨文化差异也可能影响计算能力的发展。为了解决这个问题，并在一个有代表性的样本中探索是什么因素推动了早期的计算能力，这个史无前例的项目调查了幼儿和学龄前儿童如何感知、推理和谈论数字，该项目涉及全球130多个研究地点的大规模多实验室合作。为了研究早期的计算能力，这个合作项目包括两个基础研究。第一项研究的重点是2到5岁的孩子如何感知数量，学习数字单词，以及如何准确地计算物体的数量。该研究考察了儿童学习数字和数量的多变性，同时探索了驱动他们学习的潜在感知、认知和语言机制。第二项基础研究侧重于幼儿跟踪小组物体的能力，研究人员认为这可能在早期的数字学习中起着特别重要的作用。与之前的研究相比，这项研究考察了更大、更多样化的参与者群体的可变性。该研究还询问，当儿童开始学习数字单词时，他们对物体追踪能力的限制是否会发生变化。除了这些基础研究之外，该项目还支持创建多个探索性研究，允许世界各地的研究人员之间进行新颖的、开创性的合作。这些探索性研究考察了数字能力与多种现象的关系，包括但不限于社会认知、语言多样性、执行功能等认知能力，以及数学教育和态度的跨文化差异。总的来说，这些研究将对美国28个州和27个国家的3000多名儿童进行测试，采用横向和纵向行为评估相结合的方法。最终数据将与更广泛的科学界共享，并将以简化形式在网站上公布，使更广泛的公众可以获得研究结果。该项目由EHR核心研究（ECR）计划资助，该计划支持推进STEM学习和学习环境基础研究、扩大STEM参与和STEM劳动力发展的工作。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Preschool numeracy is a crucial foundation for STEM learning and long-term academic success. Previous research suggests that the development of strong numeracy skills depends on a combination of perceptual, cognitive, and language skills. However, most past studies have focused on a relatively small and homogeneous groups of children in US urban areas. As a result, current understanding of early numeracy may notgeneralize to diverse groups of learners. It is likely that home language background, socio-economic status, and geographic and cross-cultural differences could also influence numeracy development. To address this, and to probe what factors drive early numeracy in a representative sample, this first-of-its-kind project investigates how toddlers and preschool-aged children perceive, reason, and talk about numbers in a massive multi-lab collaboration involving over 130 research sites worldwide.To investigate early numeracy, this collaborative project includes two foundational studies. The first study focuses on how 2- to 5-year-old children perceive quantity, learn number words, and how to accurately count groups of objects. The study examines variability in how children learn about number and quantity while exploring the underlying perceptual, cognitive and linguistic mechanisms that drive their learning. The second foundational study focuses on toddler’s abilities to keep track of small groups of objects, which researchers have argued may play an especially important role in early numerical learning. This study examines variability across larger and more diverse groups of participants than previously studied. The study also asks whether limits to children’s object tracking abilities change when they begin to learn number words. In addition to these foundational studies, the project supports the creation of multiple exploratory studies, allowing for novel, ground-breaking collaborations between researchers worldwide. These exploratory studies examine how numerical abilities are related to diverse phenomena including but not limited to social cognition, linguistic diversity, cognitive abilities like executive function, and cross-cultural differences in mathematics education and attitudes. Collectively, these studies will test over 3000 children in 28 US states and 27 countries, using a combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal behavioral assessments. Final data will be shared with the broader scientific community, and will be presented on a website in simplified form to make findings accessible to the broader public.This project is funded by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, which supports work that advances fundamental research on STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.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.