Teachers' involvement in children's mathematizing - beyond dichotomization between play and teaching

This article focuses on mathematics teaching in a play-based and goal-oriented kindergarten setting, and how different lines of action can affect children’s learning opportunities. The article attempts to answer the following research questions:

1. What lines of action do kindergarten teachers use when teaching mathematics through play?
2. What implications can different teaching methods have regarding children’s opportunities to learn?

The analysis distinguished four different categories: to confirm the direction of interest; to offer strategies; situating familiar concepts; to challenge the meaning of a concept. Since these lines of action differ from each other, both in terms of the mathematical content that is focused upon and the type of knowledge that is emphasised, they will have implications regarding the children’s opportunities to learn. 

The empirical material consists of 42 different video recordings of authentic play activities between children and nine adults from different kindergartens. 

Björklund, C., Magnusson, M. & Palmer, H. (2018). "Teachers' involvement in children's mathematizing - beyond dichotomization between play and teaching". European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 26(4):469-480.