A stronger first grade maths foundation (IMAGE)

University of Johannesburg

A stronger first grade maths foundation

Caption

Six-year-olds can't really talk to adults about the problems they may experience with mathematics. It is hard for teachers to know for certain who is keeping up and who is lagging. Here Refilwe Ntsoane, Head of Department Foundation Phase, is testing a first grader for maths skills at the Funda UJabule school in South Africa. The teacher training and education research school is operated by the University of Johannesburg in Soweto. Teachers can see which first graders are struggling, and where to help them, with an accurate, evidence-based, diagnostic test. A 15-week "maths boost" intervention program linked to the test, provides teachers good instructional material to support children in an efficient way. The study by researchers from the University of Helsinki and the University of Johannesburg has been published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly.

Credit

Jan Potgieter, University of Johannesburg

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