Reconceptualising early mathematics learning

Over the past decade a suite of studies focused on the early bases of mathematical abstraction and generalisation has indicated that an awareness of mathematical pattern and structure is both critical and salient to mathematical development among young children. Mulligan and colleagues have proposed a new construct, Awareness of Mathematical Pattern and Structure (AMPS), which generalizes across mathematical concepts, can be reliably measured, and is correlated with structural development of mathematics. A current large evaluation study was designed and implemented to measure and describe young children’s structural development of mathematics in the first year of schooling, Reconceptualising Early Mathematics Learning: The Fundamental Role of Pattern and Structure. An intervention was implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of the Pattern and Structure Mathematical Awareness Program (PASMAP) on kindergarten students’ mathematical development. Four large schools (two from Sydney and two from Brisbane), 16 teachers and their 316 students participated in the first phase of a two-year longitudinal study. This paper provides an overview of the background studies that informed the development of PASMAP, describes aspects of the assessment and intervention, and provides some preliminary analysis of the impact of PASMAP on students’ representations of structural development.