Exploring the practice of supporting early childhood students’ numeracy skills through collaborative learning in working group activities

Abstract

Collaborative learning has been increasingly recognized as an optimal pedagogical strategy to support early numeracy development. This study explores the application of collaborative learning in early numeracy education at the kindergarten level in Indonesia an area that remains relatively under-researched. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through classroom observations, analysis of student work and teacher interviews. This research shows that there are three key elements to successful collaborative numeracy learning which are: students' interdependence, peer support (scaffolding), and mathematical dialogue. These features reflect how active engagement and purposeful interaction within student group work can foster the successful accomplishment of numeracy tasks. Conversely, minimal collaboration in groups tends to result suboptimal numeracy outcomes, as seen in numbered LEGO sequence the result of student work was failed to follow number order. There are enablers and challenges have also distinguished in implementing optimal collaborative numeracy learning it is as the key enablers which included effective group dynamics and the use of concrete media, which supported visual and manipulative understanding of mathematical concepts. On the other hand, challenges involved instructional constraints, difficulties in group formation, and the complexity of monitoring and assessing student engagement and learning progress. These outcomes reveal important findings of effective dynamics for early childhood numeracy teaching in collaborative learning dynamics and the importance of specific collaborative numeracy instruction, teacher’s roles and instructional design in maintaining systematic teaching to optimize collaborative learning and mathematical development for early learners in kindergarten settings.