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Very young preverbal children (aged around 12 months) actively engage with their environment, whether at home, on outings, or in early learning centres. Their engagement with their environment can occur in many different ways involving physical and mental activities. In an early learning centre, there are many activities that very young preverbal children engage with on a daily basis. These activities may be fully child-initiated, fully educator-initiated, or somewhere in-between, but all will involve mathematics. It is important that the mathematics that these very young preverbal children might demonstrate in the actions undertaken during their activities are identified as it will provide the early childhood educator with an indication of the child's mathematical understandings. Psychological research has demonstrated very young children engage in mathematical thinking, which leads to the question of how the mathematical thinking of very young preverbal children in a learning centre setting can be identified. This paper uses 360° video to explore how an everyday activity that would occur for very young preverbal children--packing away toys--could be used to identify the mathematical thinking the very young preverbal child may engage with by examining their actions. The identified mathematics is linked to research and documentation that outlines what mathematics very young preverbal children may understand. The importance of identifying the mathematics in the actions of very young children as part of the role of the early childhood educator is also considered.

The push to ensure pre-service teachers are numerate, on face value, is appropriate. However, the way in which numeracy is described is of great importance as it will determine what is assessed and how it is assessed. The way numeracy is described will also impact on how teacher educators assist pre-service teachers to develop their numeracy. This paper proposes that numeracy incorporates mathematical skills and disposition towards mathematics. A discussion of what disposition towards mathematics is and how it may be measured is provided, together with the proposition that addressing pre-service teacher disposition towards mathematics may help pre-service teachers to develop their numeracy-numeracy that reflects willingness to actually use mathematics in the real world. Suggestions on how this may be achieved are outlined.

Teacher feedback is critically related to student learning. This study sought to determine the relationships between distance education (DE) student level of self-regulated learning (SRL) and their preference for audio-recorded vs. written feedback from tutors. DE students (n = 102) enrolled in a first-year university course completed an online questionnaire that assessed eight dimensions of SRL as well as a personal evaluation of written vs. audio-recorded tutor feedback that was provided during the academic study period. In general, the participating DE students expressed preference for written over audio-recorded feedback. However, complex patterns of relationships emerged between dimensions of SRL and evaluation of written vs. audio-recorded feedback. For example, DE students who were most likely to listen to audio-recorded feedback appreciated peer interaction and personal challenges more than students who preferred written feedback. In DE learning environments, a variety of feedback formats may best meet the needs of all students, although exposure to various technologies may facilitate SRL.

Teacher feedback is critically related to student learning. This study sought to determine the relationships between distance education (DE) student level of self-regulated learning (SRL) and their preference for audio-recorded vs. written feedback from tutors. DE students (n = 102) enrolled in a first-year university course completed an online questionnaire that assessed eight dimensions of SRL as well as a personal evaluation of written vs. audio-recorded tutor feedback that was provided during the academic study period. In general, the participating DE students expressed preference for written over audio-recorded feedback. However, complex patterns of relationships emerged between dimensions of SRL and evaluation of written vs. audio-recorded feedback. For example, DE students who were most likely to listen to audio-recorded feedback appreciated peer interaction and personal challenges more than students who preferred written feedback. In DE learning environments, a variety of feedback formats may best meet the needs of all students, although exposure to various technologies may facilitate SRL. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The push to ensure pre-service teachers are numerate, on face value, is appropriate. However, the way in which numeracy is described is of great importance as it will determine what is assessed and how it is assessed. The way numeracy is described will also impact on how teacher educators assist pre-service teachers to develop their numeracy. This paper proposes that numeracy incorporates mathematical skills and disposition towards mathematics. A discussion of what disposition towards mathematics is and how it may be measured is provided, together with the proposition that addressing pre-service teacher disposition towards mathematics may help pre-service teachers to develop their numeracy--numeracy that reflects willingness to actually use mathematics in the real world. Suggestions on how this may be achieved are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]