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The Development of Mathematical Abstraction in the Nursery
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Worthington, Maulfry; Dobber, Marjolein; van Oers, Bert – Educational Studies in Mathematics, 2019
The aims of this article are to document the types of signs that young children make to represent their mathematical thinking, and to determine the extent to which features of usage-based language acquisition are evident in children's early graphical communications made in mathematical contexts. Studies of young children's symbolic principles in…
Descriptors: Preschools, Preschool Children, Mathematics Education, Abstract Reasoning
Pretend Play and the Cultural Foundations of Mathematics
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Worthington, Maulfry; van Oers, Bert – European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 2016
The aim of this study is to uncover the emergence of cultural mathematical understandings and communications in young children's spontaneous pretend play. It is based on Vygotskian cultural-historical perspectives and social-semiotic theory, informed by research into "funds of knowledge" and considers how children's informal knowledge of…
Descriptors: Play, Mathematics Instruction, Longitudinal Studies, Semiotics
Helping Young Children to Become Literate: The Relevance of Narrative Competence for Developmental Education
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van Oers, Bert – European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 2007
After a critique of the standard literacy practice in primary school, the article develops a Vygotskian view on literacy that defines literate activity as a generalised ability of using sign systems for personal and interpersonal use within specific cultural practices. Narrative competence is seen as one specific form of this literate activity.…
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Literacy, Communicative Competence (Languages), Narration
On the Narrative Nature of Young Children's Iconic Representations: Some Evidence and Implications.
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van Oers, Bert – International Journal of Early Years Education, 1997
Examines the use of iconic representations in young children from a Vygotskian perspective. Uses analysis of children's drawings as basis for argument that iconic representations are narrative in nature: children supplement drawings with verbal symbols to ensure that intended meanings are clear and thereby learn to carry out semiotic activity and…
Descriptors: Childrens Art, Cognitive Development, Narration, Semiotics
Semiotic Activity of Young Children in Play: The Construction and Use of Schematic Representations.
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van Oers, Bert – European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 1994
Examined four- through six-year olds' ability to diagram the configuration of a toy railway set they had assembled and to reconstruct the railway based on drawings. Found that motivation had a significant influence on the accuracy of drawings. Results suggest that semiotic activity with the help of schematic representations or drawings is in the…
Descriptors: Childhood Attitudes, Diagrams, Foreign Countries, Freehand Drawing
On Becoming an Authentic Learner: Semiotic Activity in the Early Grades.
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van Oers, Bert; Wardekker, Willem – Journal of Curriculum Studies, 1999
Discusses authentic learning. Investigates semiotic activity in the play activities of 4- to 7-year-old children in Dutch primary schools. Suggests that with some assistance young children can be engaged meaningfully in semiotic activities during play. (CMK)
Descriptors: Children, Cultural Influences, Foreign Countries, Higher Education
Schematising in Early Childhood Mathematics Education: Why, When and How?
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Dijk, Eelje F.; van Oers, Bert; Terwel, Jan – European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 2004
Discussions about the beginnings of mathematics education in early childhood are often caught up in a dilemma: should we stimulate spontaneous actions or provide direct instruction about elementary number-related actions? In this article we argue that either approach is problematic and neither is an optimal way of promoting the development of…
Descriptors: Direct Instruction, Learning Theories, Mathematics Education, Early Childhood Education