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Ricerca per l'innovazione della scuola italiana
Didattica laboratoriale e innovazione del curricolo Area Scientifica

Mathematics education at nursery school

In order to promote significant experiences of mathematics education at preschool level, it has been recognized that educational paths should be based on the connection between characteristic aspects of different fields of cultural production, including mathematics, as well as on the ways in which girls and boys attribute meanings in ordinary experience. At the same time, the need to base educational practices designed for preschool on the results that emerged from the research was emphasized. A consolidated literature highlights the rooting of mathematical skills in cultural constructs developed in ordinary contexts and in capacities connected to the neurophysiological characteristics of each person. It has been hypothesized that an approach based on the idea of ​​embodiment can support educators in designing learning environments and experiences capable of promoting the development of a scientific perspective, with special emphasis on mathematical constructs. In this framework, some issues relating to the relationship between intuitiveness and formalization, between physical interaction and conceptualization, and between biological and epistemic aspects are still to be addressed.

Objectives

 

  • To identify useful elements for designing and conducting educational paths in nursery schools, which support the development of skills related to numerical and spatial representation.

Research questions

 

  • How to characterize the steps through which to develop educational paths in nursery schools, in order to promote forms of numerical and spatial representation that are mathematically relevant?