The Formation of Initial Components of Number Concepts in Mexican Children

The initial formation of number concept represents one of the essential aspects of learning mathematics at the primary school. Children commonly show strong difficulties and absence of comprehension of symbolic and abstract nature of concept of number. The objective of the present study was to show the effectiveness of original method for introduction of elements of concept of number. A pre- and post- test descriptive quantitative and qualitative design was used with an experimental group of Mexican suburban children from Grade 1 of the primary school. The original method for formation of components of concept of number was applied to children from experimental group. The duration of the application was six months in the classroom three days per week. The program included specific training of components of number concept: symbolic, logical, numeric, and spatial. The results of the final assessment indicate positive result in experimental group in comparison with absence of changes in control group. The authors conclude that the method could be useful for organizing pedagogical methodology in Mexican primary schools. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)