We hear a lot about how American students lag behind their international peers academically, especially in subjects like math.
This is how Annie Murphy introduced a study published in the April issue of the American Educational Research Journal, finding that kindergarten students learn more when they are exposed to challenging content such as advanced number concepts and even addition and subtraction.
She also pointed out another study, published last year by Dr. Claessens with co-authors Mimi Engel and Maida Finch, concluded that as things stand, many children in kindergarten are being taught information they already know.
Discussions about how to improve learning for young children usually focus on the length of the whole school day or the number of students in classes, but rarely on what is taught during the hours school is in session.
Increasing the time kindergarten teachers spend on more advanced math concepts may be a simpler and more cost-effective way to boost learning.
In fact young students are ready to learn more advanced math concepts, as long as they are presented in an engaging, developmentally appropriate way
Read the full article here : Underestimated and Unchallenged
You could read more on the latest in social science research about how we learn, like Designing Smarter Homework, on Annie Murphy Paul’s Brilliant blog.
