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Young Children’s Reasoning Through Data Exploration

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Forging Connections in Early Mathematics Teaching and Learning

Part of the book series: Early Mathematics Learning and Development ((EMLD))

Abstract

This chapter follows the progress of nine high-ability Year 1 Australian students as they develop reasoning skills through data exploration and analysis. The students used self-portraits drawn by child artists in Kindergarten and Year 3 to develop a rule-based classification model. Students tested their model on larger sets of self-portraits and developed their own illustrations to support the rule-based model. Seven of the nine students demonstrated advanced mathematical reasoning through their analysis of the test findings to inform their judgements regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the model. Students demonstrated this reasoning through graphical representations, reflective statements and two-way tables. These findings demonstrate the potential of rule-based model building and data analysis to extend the mathematical experiences of mathematically gifted young children.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Activities sourced from the Critical Thinking Company (Parks & Black, 1997).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

    Gabrielle Oslington, Joanne T. Mulligan & Penny Van Bergen

Authors
  1. Gabrielle Oslington
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  2. Joanne T. Mulligan
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  3. Penny Van Bergen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabrielle Oslington .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia

    Virginia Kinnear

  2. Faculty of Education and Arts, School of Education, Australian Catholic University, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia

    Mun Yee Lai

  3. Faculty of Education, College of Arts, Law and Education, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia

    Tracey Muir

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Oslington, G., Mulligan, J.T., Van Bergen, P. (2018). Young Children’s Reasoning Through Data Exploration. In: Kinnear, V., Lai, M., Muir, T. (eds) Forging Connections in Early Mathematics Teaching and Learning. Early Mathematics Learning and Development. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7153-9_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7153-9_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-7151-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-7153-9

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

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