Mathematics Process Skills and Science/Engineering Practices

Mathematics Process Skills and Science/Engineering Practices
Mathematics Process Skills	Science/Engineering Practices
Inquiry and problem solving Reasoning and proof Communication Connections Representations	Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering) Developing and using models Planning and carrying out investigations Analyzing and interpreting data Using mathematics and computational thinking Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering) Engaging in argument from evidence Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Processes focus on analysis of patterns, structures, and the testing of hypotheses or predictions. Learning to make inferences and predictions and to justify data-based conclusions helps children begin to make sense of the physical world. Through active listening to others’ explanations and communicating their own results and reasoning, they begin to appreciate multiple perspectives to problem solving and also learn to use communication as an effective means for sharing ideas.

Teachers apply knowledge of children’s general and individual characteristics and learning styles to encourage them to represent ideas in a variety of ways. Mathematics and science for young children are no longer primarily paper-and-pencil activity, as our understanding of children as concrete learners now stresses representation of thinking with words, pictures, materials, graphic organizers, and symbols (Campbell, 1999).