In this article, we draw on assemblage theory to investigate how children aged 5 engage with different material surfaces to explore ordinal and relational aspects of number. The children participate in an activity in which they first interact with a strip on the floor, then with a multi-touch iPad application, to work with numbers in expressive…

In this article, we question what is an appropriate balance of ordinal and cardinal work in the early learning of number. We see an over-emphasis, in current research and practice, on the cardinal that leads, for example, to only using small numbers. We report on empirical work we have carried out in the UK and Canada that suggests the potential…

Research has highlighted the potential of digital technology to support the development of children's number sense abilities. However, the main focus of such research has been on apps affording directed interactions, where only one solution strategy is available, and it has targeted mostly cardinality. Little is known, in these terms, about task…

Virtual manipulatives are an emerging intervention to support students with disabilities in mathematics. Through a multiple probe across participants design, researchers examined use of an intervention package consisting of a virtual manipulative (i.e., the Two-Color Counter app-based manipulative) and the system of least prompts (SLP) to support…

Advances in technology have seen a proliferation of touch-screen interfaces available to young children. These screens have changed the way in which young children engage with digital technology; with increased exposure and use, it raises debates about the suitability of integrating digital technology within early childhood settings. There are…

This article is written to share teaching ideas about using commonly available computer applications--a spreadsheet, "The Geometer's Sketchpad", and "Wolfram Alpha"--to explore three classic and historically significant problems from the probability theory. These ideas stem from the authors' work with prospective economists,…

In general, units coordination refers to the relationships that students can maintain between various units when working within a numerical situation. It is critical that middle school students learn to coordinate three levels of units not only because of their importance in understanding fractions but also because of their implications for…

The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of mathematical practices evident during children's interactions with touchscreen mathematics virtual manipulatives. Researchers analyzed 33 Kindergarten children's interactions during activities involving apps featuring mathematical content of early number sense or quantity in base ten, recorded…

Background: The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of interactive technology in the form of mathematical applications (apps) delivered using iPads on kindergarten children's learning of number sense in a play-based learning environment. Secondly, factors influencing the use of interactive technology in a play-based environment were…

In this paper we describe a touchscreen application called "TouchCounts," which is designed to support the development of number sense in the early years. We first provide an a priori analysis of its affordances. Then, using Sfard's communicational approach, augmented by a focus both on the role of the body--particularly the fingers…

This qualitative study was conducted to identify the potential of using iPad as a supplement to teach math to students with learning disabilities. Ten teacher candidates from a university in the south provided one-on-one math tutoring services to ten students in a self-contained classroom at a local high poverty elementary school. The students…