Deaf children's informal knowledge of multiplicative reasoning

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Development
• Educational Psychology
• Mathematics Education

Background:

• Multiplicative reasoning is crucial for mathematical concepts like place value, measurement, and operations.
• Early measures of multiplicative reasoning predict later mathematics achievement in hearing children.
• Deaf children demonstrate lower performance in multiplicative reasoning compared to hearing children during early schooling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the multiplicative reasoning abilities of deaf children at school entry.
• To determine if observed performance differences in deaf children reflect competence or performance limitations.
• To explore the potential for early intervention to improve deaf children's multiplicative reasoning.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of deaf children's informal multiplicative reasoning skills.
• Comparison of deaf and hearing children's performance in early mathematics.
• Implementation of a brief training intervention to assess performance changes.

Main Results:

• Deaf children under-performed in multiplicative reasoning compared to their hearing peers in the initial school years.
• A short-term training intervention led to significant improvements in deaf children's success rates on multiplicative reasoning tasks.
• The training's effectiveness suggests that performance deficits may be overcome, indicating potential rather than inherent competence gaps.

Conclusions:

• Early multiplicative reasoning deficits in deaf children are likely performance-based and can be addressed through targeted interventions.
• Promoting multiplicative reasoning at school entry is essential for establishing a stronger foundation for mathematics learning in deaf children.
• Interventions can enhance deaf children's early mathematical development, ensuring more equitable academic outcomes.