Preschool Children’s Understanding of Numbers from the Multiple Representation Perspective

Many research on primary school children in Malaysia indicate an over reliance on the written symbols representation (Munirah, 2001; Parmjit, 2005; Munirah& Noor Azlan, 2002; Chinappan & Ambigapathy, 2009; Mohini & Jacinta, 2010). This is a cause for concern as researchers draw strong connections between the representations children use and their understanding (Lamon, 2001). Janvier (1987) describes understanding as a "cumulative process mainly based upon the capacity of dealing with an 'everenriching' set of representations". Furthermore, representations are considered as a means in the formation of conceptual understanding. The ability to move smoothly between various representations of the same concept is seen as an indication of conceptual understanding and also as a goal for instruction (Lesh, Behrand Post, 1987). Moreover, according to Kaput (1991), possessing an abstract mathematical concept is better regarded as a notationally rich web of representations and applications. This paper reports on a research that was carried out to investigate preschool children’s mapping of the number words onto it’s symbolic and concrete representation. A total of thirty 5 and 6 year old preschool children were individually interviewed on number name and it’s symbolic and concrete representation. Findings suggest that there are children who are able to move smoothly between the various number representations. Pedagogical implications from the findings will be discussed.