Unplugged: Planting and Growing the Seed of Replacement in Four-Year Old-Children.

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Unplugged: Planting and Growing the Seed of Replacement in Four-Year Old-Children.
Authors: Simpson, Amber1 (AUTHOR) asimpson@binghamton.edu, Borowski, Rebecca2 (AUTHOR) rebecca.borowski@wwu.edu, Colquhoun, Ashleigh1 (AUTHOR) ashleigh.k.colquhoun@gmail.com, Hu, Zhengqi1 (AUTHOR) zhu32@binghamton.edu
Source: Early Childhood Education Journal. Oct2025, Vol. 53 Issue 7, p2347-2358. 12p.
Subject Terms: *Algebra, *Preschool children, *STEM education, *Algebra education, *Contextual learning, *Experiential learning, *Critical thinking
Abstract: With the increase of computational thinking (CT) tools in education, there are questions as to whether and how CT might support and/or hinder algebraic thinking of young children. Utilizing seeds of algebraic thinking, we add to this scholarly discussion by presenting examples from a CT activity with four-year old children in which we illustrate how young children are engaged in early algebraic thinking. More specifically, we highlight children's pre-instructional engagement with replacement, a precursor to the concept of variable. The included examples add to our limited scholarship regarding young children's (i.e., ages 3 to 5 years) early development of algebraic thinking of replacement through an unplugged activity that can be implemented within multiple learning environments within children's larger STEM ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Abstract:With the increase of computational thinking (CT) tools in education, there are questions as to whether and how CT might support and/or hinder algebraic thinking of young children. Utilizing seeds of algebraic thinking, we add to this scholarly discussion by presenting examples from a CT activity with four-year old children in which we illustrate how young children are engaged in early algebraic thinking. More specifically, we highlight children's pre-instructional engagement with replacement, a precursor to the concept of variable. The included examples add to our limited scholarship regarding young children's (i.e., ages 3 to 5 years) early development of algebraic thinking of replacement through an unplugged activity that can be implemented within multiple learning environments within children's larger STEM ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:10823301
DOI:10.1007/s10643-024-01746-1