The Development of Numerical Understandings

Abstract

This chapter explores the ways in which people's understandings of concepts can be characterized. In particular, it attempts to characterize very young children's understandings of numbers by examining a variety of their numerical skills, by inferring representations and processes that might give rise to each of these skills, and by integrating the models arising from each task domain to build a general model of preschoolers' knowledge of numbers. Several aspects of young children's knowledge of numbers are examined to devise models of their knowledge within each task domain and eventually to formulate one or more comprehensive models, including the information within each of the specific ones. The goal of formulation of models that stretch across task domains, has been given considerable homage in the abstract by developmental psychologists, but few such accounts have been stated at a sufficiently precise level to be meaningfully evaluated. It is believe that the formulation of detailed but encompassing models is crucial to understanding cognitive growth.