Reasonable, Achievable Math Standard For Preschoolers Will Be Goal Of National Conference At UB

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A major new educational trend emphasizing mathematical thinking in young children has generated national interest in teaching math skills to children at the kindergarten and preschool levels.

In the past, demand for such new educational initiatives and standards has produced well-conceived programs, as well as many competing and inappropriate curriculums. The promotion and application of the latter by states and educational accreditation groups has, in turn, led to inconsistent and incoherent standards in various educational-content areas.

To help short-circuit this process in the field of early-childhood math, the University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education will present a national conference May 14-17 in which a wide range of involved parties and decisionmakers will examine theoretical and field research on preschool math teaching and learning, and recommend curriculums and methods proven to facilitate academic success in children -- particularly low-income children -- at increased risk of school failure.

Douglas Clements, professor of learning and instruction in the UB Graduate School of Education and conference director, says the event, funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the ExxonMobil Foundation, is expected to make a major contribution to a consistent, cohesive, early-childhood math initiative.

The conference will be held none too soon, says Clements, a nationally recognized expert in mathematical thinking in early childhood. He notes that major and enforceable new requirements in mathematics teaching and learning already are under development throughout the nation.

Texas and New York are among 45 states creating standards and curriculum, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is revising its standards to include preschoolers in its standard guide, "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics."

"We believe that early communication between, and coordination of efforts by, relevant educational leaders and agencies is critical," Clements says. "We proposed this conference with these particular parties as a way to begin that communication and coordination, and prevent the difficulties that have beset other attempts to revise educational standards."

In addition to researchers, instructors, education scholars and school administrators, official representatives of the 45 states now entertaining a program of pre-school math education will attend the conference being held at UB.

The conference has the full support of many educational groups, including the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI), the Erikson Institute and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), one of the largest educational organizations in the United States.

Clements says specific conference goals are:

• To initiate communication among parties relevant to this national decision-making process

• To introduce relevant parties to the latest research findings concerning early mathematical thinking and education

• To present them with mathematicians' perspectives on the content and structure of the various mathematical domains

• To facilitate the creation of standards and curriculum materials for early-childhood mathematics that are consistent and inclusive, rather than incoherent and competitive, and that are both developmentally appropriate and challenging for young children.

The conference will propose a set of guidelines that will enable all the standards-writing groups to create consistent and complementary -- and as much as possible, common -- standards that are based on current understanding of research, practice and policy in early-childhood mathematics education, Clements says.

He notes that by facilitating communication within the educational community, ideas are shared. By presenting research and other current work in the field, he says, the conference will not only enhance the knowledge of participants but, when gathered and published, will be available for broader use.

"Our emphasis on content," he says, "is deliberate. We want to encourage participants to synthesize research on early-mathematical thinking with the conceptual foundations of mathematics as a discipline."

Additional information on registration, conference participants and program updates can be found at http://www.gse.buffalo.edu/org/conference/.