Author Archives: Elizabeth Gamino
I Wonder
As I write this blog on a hot, sultry day in July, I can’t help but wonder what my friends in education are doing during their final days of summer vacation. Are they relaxing by a pool? Are they at the beach? Are they vacationing somewhere in the United States or abroad? Are they attending… Continue Reading
Count Anything and Everything
A few weeks ago, I was walking across campus and found myself counting the number of steps it had taken me to get from our office to the campus bookstore. After realizing what I had unconsciously done, I purposely counted my steps on my return trip to check for accuracy and, to my surprise, I… Continue Reading
Mathematizing ~ Counting Stories
Mathematizing defined by Allen Rosales is “the process of understanding math within the context of children’s daily lives”. Last weekend, while cleaning my garage, I came across three lesson plan books from when I taught Kindergarten and First grade. Why I hadn’t gotten rid of them earlier, I don’t know. Rather than immediately tossing them… Continue Reading
Do You Possess the Math Gene?
Do you consider yourself a math minded person? Did you struggle with math in school? Do you feel stressed when calculating tips or splitting a restaurant bill? Did you choose the early learning grades to teach because of your feelings toward math? If any of these questions resonated with you, it’s okay. It’s not a… Continue Reading
Children Are Natural Mathematicians
In my last BLOG, I wrote about mathematizing our young children’s worlds. No sooner had I written and submitted my BLOG for posting, that my grandnephew came over to visit. Isaac is 3 years old and very shy, but when he decides to talk, he doesn’t stop. This little guy loves to build and create… Continue Reading
Mathematizing: Highlighting the Mathematics in the Young Child’s World
“From the ages of 3 through 6, children need many experiences that call on them to relate their knowledge to the vocabulary and conceptual frameworks of mathematics – in other words, to ‘mathematize’ what they intuitively grasp.” (NCTM/NAEYC 2002, p.16) So what does it mean to “mathematize”? Mathematize is defined as: To regard or treat… Continue Reading
SUBITIZING, Part 3 – “The Why and The How”
In my last blog, I shared an experience I had while visiting with a friend and her two grandchildren, Maria and Omar, and what I noticed about their ability to subitize at four years of age. As a Research Associate I am finding that the more I interact with young children, the more I am… Continue Reading
Subitizing, Part 2
In my last blog I mentioned that there are two distinct types of subitizing – perceptual and conceptual. I am fascinated by the subtle differences that students show and what that means about their thinking. Perceptual subitizing is the ability to recognize a number without using other mathematical processes (Clements 1999) and there are four… Continue Reading
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
I use this quote from Steve Jobs as my title because this is how I feel about the place I work and the work that I do. Everyday I am tasked with learning more about how children acquire their mathematical knowledge; how do children come to know? Does this sound like a daunting task? Does… Continue Reading
I Am An Accidental Teacher Researcher
Are you, like me, an accidental teacher? Did the career of educator just sort of creep into your life? When I entered college I initially wanted to become a medical examiner, you know, like Quincy (circa 1976 – 1983). Well, in the process, I discovered I didn’t deal well with blood and gore. Hence, still… Continue Reading
