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大学的一组调查人员领导，将解决美国特定少数民族在STEM领域代表性低的长期问题。入学时，孩子们在数学技能上就已经表现出显著的个体差异，这可能会使他们的数学表现或高或低，并参与STEM学科。与非拉丁裔白人儿童相比，拉美裔儿童在上学期间的数学成绩在很大程度上更容易出现延迟，因此迫切需要研究这种差距是何时以及为何出现的。拉美裔儿童大多来自社会经济地位较低的家庭。为此，该项目将研究300名拉丁裔和非拉丁裔白人幼儿的早期数学技能，以及他们与父母在日常互动中为孩子提供的数学相关学习机会的数量和质量之间的关系。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，以确定哪些因素可以解释家庭中提供数学相关学习机会的差异。该项目的调查结果将传达给教育工作者、与父母一起工作的从业者、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）项目资助，该项目支持推进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研究，支持三个核心系统的数学学习：(1)近似数字系统（ANS），数字的不精确、非符号表示；(2)精确数字系统，数字的精确、符号表示；(3)空间数学，表示形状、空间和空间中物体之间关系的系统。这些核心数学系统是一生中数学认知的基石。本项目将调查拉丁裔和非拉丁裔白人背景幼儿的核心数学技能，以及导致个体差异的因素。在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裔和非拉丁裔白人背景的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方法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，测试父母教育实践与幼儿数学技能之间的关联，并确定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，以支持新兴数学技能，并解决STEM相关领域中代表性不足的群体成员的参与问题。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。

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.