The Process of Forming Mental Number Lines in Early Childhood

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  • 幼児期における心的数直線の形成過程の検討
  • ヨウジキ ニ オケル シンテキスウ チョクセン ノ ケイセイ カテイ ノ ケントウ

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Abstract

The formation of a mental number line is very important for numerical conceptual development in early childhood. This process has been viewed from two main positions. One position focuses on a qualitative shift from a logarithmic to a linear representation of numerical magnitude, while the other position focuses on proportion judgment, which takes particular note of anchor points and utilizes the strategy of estimating numerical magnitude. The present study investigated the representation of number lines before they fit logarithmic functions. Additionally, we examined the relationships between qualitative change in mental number lines and the use of anchor points. Fifty-eight participants (ages 4–6) completed a 0–20 number-to-position task, and 27 participants (in the same age range) completed a 0–10 number-to-position task. The results found 5 primitive number representations including the big-small type before fitted functions. It was also revealed that linear representations did not always use proportion judgments while using both end points and midpoints. These findings allows us to further understand how mental number lines are formed in early childhood.

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