Preschoolers' Use of Count Information to Judge Relative Quantity [Balance-scale tasks with count information vs. balance-scale tasks without count information]
Curtis, Reagan; Okamoto, Yukari; Weckbacher, Lisa Marie (2009). Early Childhood Research Quarterly, v24 n3 p325-336. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ858278
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examining35Students, gradePK
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: July 2022
- Practice Guide (findings for Balance-scale tasks with count information)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Balance-Scale Task: Small differences in weight |
Balance-scale tasks with count information vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
0.57 |
0.19 |
No |
-- | |
|
Balance-Scale Task: Small differences in distance |
Balance-scale tasks with count information vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
0.36 |
0.19 |
No |
-- | |
|
Rote Counting |
Balance-scale tasks with count information vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
6.71 |
5.95 |
No |
-- | |
|
Balance-Scale Task: Large differences in distance |
Balance-scale tasks with count information vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
0.50 |
0.38 |
No |
-- | |
|
Balance-Scale Task: Large differences in weight |
Balance-scale tasks with count information vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
0.50 |
0.52 |
No |
-- |
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 43%
Male: 57% -
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California
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Race Other or unknown 100% -
Ethnicity Other or unknown 100% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Other or unknown 100%
Study Details
Setting
The review focuses on Study 1, which took place in a university-affiliated preschool in California.
Study sample
A total of 35 students from two classrooms in one preschool were randomly assigned to the intervention and comparison conditions. The preschool served families from a wide range of socioeconomic statuses and the student sample was 57% male, 43% female, with a mean age of four years, zero months.
Intervention Group
In Study 1 students worked individually with the researcher on a series of balance-scale tasks that required placing various numbers of weights on both arms of a scale. After practice with the scale, students worked through the outcome items: they were shown the balance-scale with weights placed on both arms and asked, “Will this side go down (pointing to left side), will this side go down (pointing to right side), or will they both stay up and balance?” The researcher provided the intervention group support in the form of "count information" consisting of pointing to and counting each weight/peg aloud and repeating the final cardinal value of the set as students completed outcome tasks with a balance scale.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison group completed the same balance scale outcome tasks as the intervention group but did not receive any count information.
Support for implementation
No support was provided for implementation.
Teaching Math to Young Children
Review Details
Reviewed: November 2013
Teaching Math to Young Children Practice Guide- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 49%
Male: 51%
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
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