Spontaneous focus on mathematical structures: patterns and sorting

Main Article Content

Gina Bojorque
Neli Gonzales
Lieven Verschaffel

Abstract

The study aimed to examine whether preschool children spontaneously focus on mathematical structures - patterns and classification - and whether that spontaneous focus is associated with their patterning abilities. The methodology was quantitative, descriptive, and comparative. Participants included 60 preschoolers who were evaluated at the end of the school year. The results indicated that most of them spontaneously focus on creating a mathematical structure and that there is no association between their tendency to focus on mathematical structures and their patterning abilities. No differences were observed in the spontaneous focus related to gender or socioeconomic background. It is concluded that these results allow us to point to the universal nature of the spontaneous focus on mathematical structures.

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How to Cite
Bojorque, G., Gonzales, N. ., Wijns, N., Verschaffel, L., & Torbeyns, J. (2021). Spontaneous focus on mathematical structures: patterns and sorting. PODIUM, (40), 125–142. https://doi.org/10.31095/podium.2021.40.8
Section
Scientific articles
Author Biographies

Gina Bojorque, Universidad de Cuenca

Doctor of Educational Sciences, KU Leuven. Docente-investigador, Universidad de Cuenca - Ecuador.

Neli Gonzales, Universidad de Cuenca

Magister en Gerencia de Proyectos Educativos y Sociales, Universidad de Cuenca. Docente-investigador, Universidad de Cuenca - Ecuador.

Nore Wijns, KU Leuven

Doctor of Educational Sciences, KU Leuven. Docente-investigador, KU Leuven – Bélgica.  

Lieven Verschaffel, KU Leuven

Doctor of Educational Sciences, KU Leuven. Docente-investigador, KU Leuven – Bélgica.

Joke Torbeyns, KU Leuven

Doctor of Educational Sciences, KU Leuven. Docente-investigador, KU Leuven – Bélgica.

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