DEVELOPING REPRESENTATIONS OF QUANTITY

Two studies were conducted to investigate how children use written not ations to represent information about quantity. Children from 3 to 5 y ears of age who could count and recognize numerals were asked to produ ce or select a written notation to represent a specified quantity and to then interpret this representation later. Their productions or sele ctions were classified as being numeral, analogue or global representa tions. The results showed that there was a developmental increase in t he use of numerals accompanied by a systematic decline in the use of t he alternatives. Furthermore, only the numerals could be reliably inte rpreted later for quantity. The results point to weaknesses in childre n's understanding of number concepts in terms of how these relate to c ounting procedures and written notations.