They begin to generalise and look for the rules that define patterns, paying less attention to the items in the pattern. For example, as children discover that a repeating pattern is governed by a rule that the items within the pattern alternate, they also come to understand that the same relation can be applied to other objects and things. Algebraic thinking is an important foundation for advanced studies in mathematics and the sciences, and begins with the understanding of mathematical relationships and patterns. Research has also found connections between patterning and children’s later abilities in algebraic reasoning. Visualisation skills are positively related to mathematical achievement. Understanding multiplicative structures (multiplication, ratio, proportion, trigonometry) involves understanding ideas such as grouping, partitioning, unitising, and repeating, as well as abilities in visualising mathematical structures such as arrays (a matrix of rows and columns). Children with strong pattern understanding are aided in learning patterns in numerical sequences later at school, such as the way in which, when counting in fives, the unit digit alternates between 0 and 5 (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35…). Pattern understanding can enhance children’s counting abilities, because counting itself is a predictable, rule-governed sequence. Repeating patterns occur frequently in mathematical structures, such as in measurement (the repetition of identical spatial units), and multiplication (the repetition of identical quantities or numbers). It is thought that children’s ability to abstract and identify the unit of repeat in a repeated pattern leads to higher mathematical achievement both in patterning and other areas of mathematics. In particular, an understanding of repeated patterns is uniquely associated with higher mathematics achievement. In one study, interventions based on training in pattern understanding were more effective in improving children’s mathematics achievement than interventions based on general mathematics learning. This helps children to focus on, and later understand, a range of mathematical structures and relationships.Ĭhildren’s pattern understanding at 5 years old is found to predict their mathematical ability at 11 years old. Patterning requires the ability to recognise predictable regularities in shapes, numbers, and measures, to detect sameness and difference, and to make distinctions, classify, and label. Pattern understanding and mathematical achievement: Mathematics is based on pattern and structure, which is why pattern understanding is so crucial to mathematical achievement. Research has found children’s patterning skills and pattern understanding to predict their current and later mathematical competence in number, algebra, and geometry, as well as their reading ability and executive function skills. Pattern understanding refers to the ability to discern the underlying structure of a sequence. The importance of pattern understanding in early childhood
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