Conteos erróneos y conteos inusualesun análisis longitudinal de la comprensión de la habilidad de contar.

Abstract

Counting is very important in the logical mathematical reasoning development. Thus, it seems crucial to explore the development of children´s counting skills as they move into primary school. In this sense, children´s discrimination between essential counting features (logical rules) and non-essential counting features (conventional rules) can be taken as a good indicator of their comprehension of counting. We have conducted a 3-year longitudinal study to analyse the developmental changes in children´s ability to differentiate logical from conventional rules. 25 Spanish children -aged 5 to 6 years old (Time 1), 6 to 7 years old (Time 2) and 7 to 8 years old (Time 3) - had to judge the correctness of different types of counts occurring during a detection task. We created a computer program in which children watched three kinds of trials: Conventional-correct counts, errors, and pseudo-errors (with or without statements of the cardinal value of the sets). Children were always requested to justify their responses. In general, our findings showed that children were better at recognizing the neccesity of logical rules than the arbitrariness of conventional ones. Furthermore, the statement of the correct cardinal value after pseudo-error trials helped children from 6 to 7 years old to focus more on the answer than on the unconventional procedure used to get it. Children become progressively more capable of distinguishing logical from conventional rules, although the knowledge of logical rules did not immediately lead to better understanding of conventional ones.