How Do Young Children Learn Mathematics? A Constructivist Literature Review

Abstract

The results of the PISA study over two decades show that the achievement of students' mathematical abilities in Indonesia is still far from the standard. Mathematics education in Indonesia needs to accelerate the improvement of the mathematics learning process to be more meaningful and this effort is based on early childhood education. Constructivists believe that the best way for children to learn mathematics is by doing mathematics themselves. Both Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bruner believe that mathematical thinking skills in early childhood develop in line with and are integrated with aspects of development, especially cognitive development. Learning is a process of constructing knowledge through direct experience and interaction with the environment, so learning is how to make sense of something they learn. The idea of ​​​​constructivism recommends active and child-centered learning, and is related to the discovery of meaning from something children experience. Exploratory, manipulative, cooperative, discovery experiences, are opportunities for children to organize their cognitive structures and make their own discoveries in understanding concepts, reasoning and solving mathematical problems.