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Article

Supporting Pre-School Children’s Number Learning Through Embodied Representation

by
Jennifer Way
1,* and
Katherin Cartwright
2
1
Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
2
School of Education, Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(9), 1170; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15091170 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 2 August 2025 / Revised: 28 August 2025 / Accepted: 5 September 2025 / Published: 7 September 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Mathematical Thinking in Early Childhood Education)

Abstract

Situated within the Embodied Learning in Early Mathematics and Science project in Australia, this paper explores the relationships between ‘embodied activities’ used by a preschool teacher and the children’s development of number sense over six months. Using an instrumental case study approach, qualitative data from multiple sources including self-reported data from the teacher, activity descriptions, two task-based interviews with nine children, and number-knowledge data extracted from a mathematics achievement assessment (pretest and post-test) was analysed. Pattern searching techniques across text and video revealed connections between the embodied activities implemented by the teacher and the children’s development of subitizing and counting skills, mathematical drawing, and number magnitude knowledge. We propose that attending to specific aspects of children’s physical development, particularly finger dexterity and drawing skills, in experiences that focus on representing number concepts, can support their development of number sense.
Keywords: embodied learning; early childhood; mathematics education; number sense embodied learning; early childhood; mathematics education; number sense

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Way, J.; Cartwright, K. Supporting Pre-School Children’s Number Learning Through Embodied Representation. Educ. Sci. 2025, 15, 1170. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15091170

AMA Style

Way J, Cartwright K. Supporting Pre-School Children’s Number Learning Through Embodied Representation. Education Sciences. 2025; 15(9):1170. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15091170

Chicago/Turabian Style

Way, Jennifer, and Katherin Cartwright. 2025. "Supporting Pre-School Children’s Number Learning Through Embodied Representation" Education Sciences 15, no. 9: 1170. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15091170

APA Style

Way, J., & Cartwright, K. (2025). Supporting Pre-School Children’s Number Learning Through Embodied Representation. Education Sciences, 15(9), 1170. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15091170

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