Supporting cardinality principle development: the contribution of instruction type and its interplay with child characteristics.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Supporting cardinality principle development: the contribution of instruction type and its interplay with child characteristics.
Authors: Splinter, Suzanne Elise1 (AUTHOR) suzanne.splinter@kuleuven.be, Depaepe, Fien1,2 (AUTHOR), Verschaffel, Lieven1 (AUTHOR), Torbeyns, Joke1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Educational Studies in Mathematics. Jun2025, Vol. 119 Issue 2, p335-365. 31p.
Subject Terms: *Cognitive psychology, *Picture books, *Counting, Operant behavior, Puppets
Abstract: Mastery of the cardinality principle (CP) is foundational for children's mathematical development. Children's age and subitizing and counting skills contribute to their CP acquisition. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of different types of instruction for supporting 3–4-year-olds' CP development and its interplay with child characteristics, following a pretest-intervention-posttest-retention-test design. The type of instruction given during the intervention was manipulated in four conditions, i.e., counting only, labeling only, first counting and next labeling, or first labeling and next counting. We offered 180 3–4-year-olds three tasks to assess their CP mastery: Hidden Stars, Give-N, and Puppet Miscounting. We also assessed their subitizing, verbal counting, and synchronous counting skills. Instruction involving first labeling and next counting was most effective to support children's CP development from pretest to posttest. This effect did not persist at the retention test. When including child characteristics in the analyses, condition no longer contributed to CP development, but counting and subitizing skills did. Moreover, our analyses pointed to a complex interplay between children's counting and subitizing skills and condition. Instruction involving both counting and labeling was most effective for children with better pretest subitizing and counting skills. The results question previous studies on instruction effectiveness that did not take into account children's subitizing and counting skills. They also emphasize the need for further research on the complex interplay between effective CP instruction and child characteristics. These and future findings provide building blocks for optimizing the timing and content of early mathematics instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Educational Studies in Mathematics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
Full text is not displayed to guests.
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 1
Header DbId: ehh
DbLabel: Education Research Complete
An: 185037546
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Supporting cardinality principle development: the contribution of instruction type and its interplay with child characteristics.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Splinter%2C+Suzanne+Elise%22">Splinter, Suzanne Elise</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> suzanne.splinter@kuleuven.be</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Depaepe%2C+Fien%22">Depaepe, Fien</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Verschaffel%2C+Lieven%22">Verschaffel, Lieven</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Torbeyns%2C+Joke%22">Torbeyns, Joke</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Educational+Studies+in+Mathematics%22">Educational Studies in Mathematics</searchLink>. Jun2025, Vol. 119 Issue 2, p335-365. 31p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+psychology%22">Cognitive psychology</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Picture+books%22">Picture books</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Counting%22">Counting</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Operant+behavior%22">Operant behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Puppets%22">Puppets</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Mastery of the cardinality principle (CP) is foundational for children's mathematical development. Children's age and subitizing and counting skills contribute to their CP acquisition. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of different types of instruction for supporting 3–4-year-olds' CP development and its interplay with child characteristics, following a pretest-intervention-posttest-retention-test design. The type of instruction given during the intervention was manipulated in four conditions, i.e., counting only, labeling only, first counting and next labeling, or first labeling and next counting. We offered 180 3–4-year-olds three tasks to assess their CP mastery: Hidden Stars, Give-N, and Puppet Miscounting. We also assessed their subitizing, verbal counting, and synchronous counting skills. Instruction involving first labeling and next counting was most effective to support children's CP development from pretest to posttest. This effect did not persist at the retention test. When including child characteristics in the analyses, condition no longer contributed to CP development, but counting and subitizing skills did. Moreover, our analyses pointed to a complex interplay between children's counting and subitizing skills and condition. Instruction involving both counting and labeling was most effective for children with better pretest subitizing and counting skills. The results question previous studies on instruction effectiveness that did not take into account children's subitizing and counting skills. They also emphasize the need for further research on the complex interplay between effective CP instruction and child characteristics. These and future findings provide building blocks for optimizing the timing and content of early mathematics instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Educational Studies in Mathematics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=185037546
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10649-025-10392-2
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 31
        StartPage: 335
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Cognitive psychology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Picture books
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Counting
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Operant behavior
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Puppets
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Supporting cardinality principle development: the contribution of instruction type and its interplay with child characteristics.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Splinter, Suzanne Elise
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Depaepe, Fien
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Verschaffel, Lieven
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Torbeyns, Joke
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 00131954
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 119
            – Type: issue
              Value: 2
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Educational Studies in Mathematics
              Type: main
ResultId 1