Developing an understanding of repeating patterning [Author Accepted Manuscript]

Date

2025-12-01

Author

Msall, Camille
Yıldırım, Betül Fatma
Özel, Serkan
Rittle-Johnson, Bethany

Metadata

Show full item record

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Item Usage Stats

63
views

63
downloads

Cite This

Patterning knowledge encompasses the ability to notice and use predictable sequences, and identifying, extending, and describing patterns in objects and numbers are core to mathematical thinking. Identifying the pattern rule (e.g., the unit of repeat) is often considered an indicator of patterning understanding. The goal of the current paper is to consider potential operationalizations of repeating patterning understanding, as well as expand the toolkit for measuring repeating patterning understanding. The Early Patterning Assessment (EPA) is a research instrument that can be given online or in person, using mostly selected-response items. Across four rounds of data collection in the U.S. (n = 244) and one study in Türkiye (formerly known as Turkey) (n = 107), the repeating patterning measure was a reliable measure for 4-7-year-old children, with scores increasing with age. It was also easier and faster to administer than past assessments that used constructed response items. IRT Rasch models were used to assess construct validity and identify the difficulty level of different types of items, within a Construct Modeling Approach (Wilson, 2005). Complete the pattern was the easiest task, and explicitly identifying the unit of repeat was the most difficult task. We considered three potential indicators of repeating patterning understanding and suggested operationalizing children’s understanding of repeating patterns as demonstrating spontaneous use of correct procedures across multiple tasks and pattern units.

URI

https://doi.org/10.5964/jnc.17029
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/118622

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Article