BranchED Summer Institute 2024

Counting Connections: Transforming Early Math Education, Empowering Early Math Educators   

As with early literacy indicators, early success in mathematics is a strong predictor of achievement later in formal schooling. Because math proficiency leads to increases in college and career opportunities, many professional organizations including the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children advocate for approaches to early math learning that increase interest and value in mathematics, build self-confidence and problem-solving skills, and further build communication and reasoning skills. There continues to be a need for developing best teaching practices in early math education that build on children’s experience and knowledge, including their family, linguistic, cultural, and community backgrounds; their individual approaches to learning; and their informal knowledge.

To that end, BranchED will convene a group of up to 30 math scholars and practitioners from university and early childhood contexts in early fall 2024 to explore the status of early math literacy and to identify needs within teacher preparation programs. The information gleaned from this convening will inform the curation of a knowledge base and set of corresponding resources focused on evidence-based practices in early math literacy including a survey to assess teacher efficacy and a Math Asset Mapping Diagnostic Tool for teacher preparation programs.   

Participation in the convening is sponsored by BranchED. If you are interested in taking part please complete this survey (or scan the QR code) by June 15th.