Collaborative Research: Promoting Math Skills through Playful Communication in the Home Environment

打下坚实的早期数学知识基础，对孩子日后的数学成就和在STEM领域的发展至关重要。促进早期数学发展的一个环境是家庭环境。非正式活动和与成年人的互动可以通过家庭向幼儿提供的数学交流为儿童提供广泛的数学信息。此外，许多因素会影响孩子在家中早期的数学相关经历。例如，父母对儿童发展的心态和信念会影响他们与孩子进行数学相关活动的频率。该项目的目标是检验以家长为中心的数学相关交流训练对提高儿童数学技能的益处。这项研究的重点是低收入家庭，因为高收入家庭的孩子在数学方面一直比低收入家庭的孩子表现更好，甚至早在学龄前就开始了。家庭训练将以家庭的优势为基础，加强家庭在日常生活和与孩子玩耍中使用的与数学有关的谈话和手势。这项研究的结果将有助于了解家庭中与数学相关的交流是否以及如何促进学习，并将生产低成本的工具，有利于幼儿的早期数学发展。该研究将对来自不同背景的低收入家庭（n = 300）进行与数学相关的沟通培训的益处。主要目的是检验：1)为期3个月的以家庭为基础的培训，重点关注数学交流（有或没有手势）的好处，是否会促进父母及其学龄前儿童使用的数学谈话和手势；2)家庭训练是否提高了学龄前儿童的数学技能，并且这些提高在3个月后是否稳定；(3)数学沟通训练的效果是否因父母对数学技能可塑性持有不同心态的家庭而异。在这项研究中，家庭将接受三种训练中的一种，重点是促进与数学有关的谈话和手势，仅与数学有关的谈话，或在游戏中谈话。前两次培训将通过视频和材料为家庭提供工具和信息，将数学交流融入与孩子的游戏和日常活动中。在三个月的干预期间，父母和孩子在数学谈话和手势使用方面的变化将在亲子互动中进行检查。孩子们的早期数学技能也将在训练前、3个月的干预期后和3个月的延迟后测中进行评估。此外，将采用个体差异方法来确定对数学技能可塑性持有不同心态的父母（和父母的孩子）的训练效果是否不同。总的来说，这项研究将通过提高家庭在家庭环境中的数学参与来提高幼儿的数学知识，并通过检查父母帮助将数学谈话和手势融入他们与孩子的游戏和日常活动中的资源的好处来推进知识。本项目由美国国家科学基金会EDU核心研究（ECR）项目支持。ECR项目强调在该领域产生基础知识的基础STEM教育研究。投资在至关重要、广泛和持久的关键领域：STEM学习和STEM学习环境，扩大STEM参与，以及STEM劳动力发展。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。

Having a strong foundation in early mathematical knowledge is of critical importance for children’s later mathematical achievement and moving forward in STEM fields. One context for promoting early mathematical development is the home environment. Informal activities and interactions with adults can provide children with extensive mathematical information through the communication about math that families provide to their young children. Additionally, numerous factors can influence children’s early math-related experiences at home. For example, parents’ mindsets and beliefs about child development can impact how frequently they engage in math-related activities with their children. The goal of the project is to examine the benefits of parent-focused math-related communication trainings to improve children’s math skills. The focus of the research is on families from lower-income backgrounds because children from higher-income households consistently outperform their peers from lower-income households in mathematics, even as early as preschool. The family trainings will build on the strengths of families by enhancing the math-related talk and gestures that families use during their daily routines and play with their children. Findings from the research will provide insight into whether and how math-related communication at home can promote learning and will produce low-cost tools to benefit early mathematical development for young children. The proposed study will examine the benefits of math-related communication trainings with low-income families from diverse backgrounds (n = 300). The central aims are to examine: 1) whether home-based trainings over a 3-month period that focus on the benefits of math communication (with and without gesture) will promote the math talk and gestures used by parents and their preschool-age children; 2) whether the home-based trainings improve preschool children’s math skills and whether these improvements are stable 3 months later; 3) whether the effects of the math communication trainings differ for families where parents hold different mindsets about the malleability of math skills. In the study, families will receive one of three trainings that focus on promoting both math-related talk and gestures, math-related talk only, or talk during play. The first two trainings will provide families with tools and information through a video and materials for incorporating math communication into play and daily activities with their children. The changes in math talk and gesture use for parents and children over the 3-month intervention period will be examined during parent-child interactions. Children’s early math skills also will be assessed prior to the training, after the 3-month intervention period, and again in a 3-month delayed posttest. Moreover, an individual differences approach will be taken to determine whether the effectiveness of the trainings differs for parents (and children of parents) who hold varied mindsets about the malleability of math skills. Overall, this research will advance knowledge by enhancing the mathematical engagement of families in the home environment to improve the mathematical knowledge of young children, and by examining the benefits of resources for parents to help incorporate math talk and gestures into their play and routine activities with their children. This project is supported by NSF’s EDU Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad, and enduring: STEM learning and STEM 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.