What counts in number books? A content-domain specific typology to evaluate children’s books for mathematics

ABSTRACT

Although the complexity of children’s number learning is recognized, trade books about number have been treated as a simple, undifferentiated set. This analysis of 186 children’s books, however, categorized a distinct subset of books about number as counting books. These counting books were complex with regard to portrayal of counting sequences, explicitness of counting, and degree of rationality. The analysis yielded the multi-dimensional Counting Book Typology, which revealed nuanced ways counting books accurately portray numerical ideas as well as ways books could mislead young readers. The typology could aid researchers investigating how children learn with books to focus study design decisions on particular mathematics content features, which would clarify and strengthen resulting implications. Furthermore, this study revealed the need for more such conceptual tools to advance theorizing about learning math with children’s books, which has been missing in research and practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Counting
• early childhood mathematics
• literature
• number
• children’s books
• typology

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

The analysis was supported in part by start-up funds Kent State University awarded to Julie Nurnberger-Haag.

Notes on contributors

Julie Nurnberger-Haag

Julie Nurnberger-Haag has been a mathematics educator for 25 years and is currently an Assistant Professor of mathematics education in the School of Teaching, Learning & Curriculum Studies at Kent State University. For seven years she was a mathematics teacher and instructional coordinator at a 1st-12th school for students with learning differences and has worked with teachers and librarians for mathematics professional development. In her current position she is a mathematics teacher educator and conducts research on the mathematical accuracy, affordances, and issues with resources used to teach mathematics, so that we can design better learning experiences for people from birth through adulthood. This research focus includes analysis of informal resources such as children’s books and formal resources designed for classrooms such as manipulatives, games, and other instructional tools.

Anita N. Alexander

Anita N. Alexander is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Bilkent in Turkey. She is a mathematics educator and researcher with over 15 years of teaching experience at the high school and college levels. Her primary research objective is to improve undergraduate mathematics education by implementing inquiry-based learning to promote a conceptual understanding of essential concepts. Her research includes examining teaching norms at the high school and undergraduate level. She also collaborates on research for early childhood mathematics education with the overarching objective of vertical alignment. At the time this study was conducted, she was a doctoral student at Kent State University.

Sarah R. Powell

Sarah R. Powell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Her teaching and research focus on mathematics and students experiencing learning difficulties. Powell currently conducts school-based research projects from preschool to middle school funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, National Science Foundation, Office of Special Education Programs, Office of Innovation and Improvement, Texas Education Agency, and T.L.L. Temple Foundation.