Deborah Rolls The Need for Number Sense

Deborah Rolls Literature Review

Title:  The Need for Number Sense: The roots of many students’ math difficulties are evident as early as kindergarten

Author:  Nancy C. Jordan

Source:  Jordan, N. C. (2007, October). The need for number sense: The roots of many students’                    math difficulties are evident as early as kindergarten. Educational Leadership, V. 65, (2),                            63-65.

Summary:

For years educators have believed the relationship between ‘number sense’ and ‘math ability’ is important and intriguing.  This is due in part because we believe that ‘number sense’ is universal, whereas ‘math ability’ has been thought to be highly dependent on culture and language and take many years to learn.  According to Nancy Jordan, the link between the two raises many important questions and issues, including one of the most important ones, which is whether a child can be identified as early as kindergarten and trained in number sense with an eye to improving his future math ability.

            Jordan states that one characteristic of students who displays number sense difficulties is having trouble with simple computationresulting in the use of their fingers and will continue well into the third grade and beyond.  It is assumed that these children have trouble memorizing facts, which results in drill and skill remediation.

            Kindergarten is a time for learning math concepts, number sense, and skills.  Number sense is simply having the basic understanding of numbers, what they are, and how we use them.  The author suggests that kindergarteners be screened for number sense several times during the year.  Her findings found that early screening helps identify students at risk. 

            The article states that “although calculation fluency is not sufficient for succeeding in advanced math, such as algebra, it is a necessary foundation.”

Analysis:

            For me, number sense has long been difficult to define but easy to recognize.  I have known students that have good number sense can move seamlessly between the real world of quantities and the mathematical world of numbers and numerical expressions.  Reading this article has given me hope for those students who enter the upper grades with weak number sense.  I also researched several number-sense screening test and feel that our Trust Lands money that is being spent for a math tutor could be used more efficiently if our focus was on screening and remediating in the early grades.