ROOT(Math Success) = Childhood + Concrete Analogs + Challenges

G4G15

ROOT(Math Success) = Childhood + Concrete Analogs + Challenges

Debbie Denise Reese

Rec Math,Science

In the spirit of G4G, Zone Proxima offers the opportunity for adults (parents, caregivers, educators, and philanthropists) to improve individual and collective mathematics achievement. Zone Proxima Math inspires young children to solve mathematics challenges that develop foundational mathematics. The initiative educates adults to effectively mentor early childhood mathematics discovery. The current USA landscape for mathematics achievement is bleak-- 73% grade 8 and 64% of grade 4 students lacked mathematics proficiency in 2022. The solution and key to math success is concrete, early childhood mathematics preparation. Zone Proxima Math provides the tantalizing allure of low-risk, embodied learning challenges to effectively guide young children to discover and apply foundational mathematics concepts. Children experience joy in math. Through Zone Proxima, adults learn how to mentor children to manipulate concrete learning objects designed to embody mathematical concepts, how to recognize and guide children to self-regulate (includes tenacity), and how to guide children to enjoy the rewards of effortful cognitive engagement (hard work is good fun)— Zone Proxima children construct the integrated, coherent, well-formed mental models of foundational math required for mathematical understanding and success. Zone Proxima Math instruction works the way the mind does: leveraging cognitive recognition between the abstract and the concrete. The paper describes the need for and science underlying Zone Proxima Math.

G15-023-1