What children's number naming errors tell us about early understanding of multidigit numbers

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Development
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Foundational symbolic numeric skills, like number identification, are crucial for mathematical development.
• Children's understanding of multidigit numbers develops progressively, involving distinct error types.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the development of number identification in Russian preschoolers.
• To analyze age-related changes in accuracy and error types during multidigit number naming.
• To explore the relationship between number naming accuracy and conceptual understanding of the base-10 system.

Main Methods:

• Two studies were conducted with Russian preschoolers aged 51–77 months (Study 1, N=350) and 61–74 months (Study 2, N=110).
• Study 1 examined age-related changes in number naming accuracy and categorized errors as syntactic (structural) or lexical (nonstructural).
• Study 2 assessed the association between double-digit number naming accuracy, error types, and base-10 conceptual understanding.

Main Results:

• Number reading accuracy increased with age, mainly due to a reduction in syntactic errors.
• Boys exhibited fewer syntactic errors compared to girls.
• Accuracy in naming double-digit numbers correlated with conceptual understanding of the base-10 structure; syntactic errors were negatively associated with base-10 representations.

Conclusions:

• Developmental improvements in number identification are linked to overcoming structural naming challenges.
• Gender differences exist in specific error patterns during number identification.
• Conceptual grasp of the base-10 system is vital for accurate multidigit number naming in early childhood, influencing mathematical trajectories.