KOGNITIVNA REPREZENTACIJA BROJEVA U DJECE RAZLIČITE DOBI
COGNITIVE REPRESENTATION OF NUMBERS IN CHILDREN OF DIFFERENT AGES

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper was to check and compare the cognitive representation of numbers in three groups of children: preschool (N=30), first-grade schoolchildren (N=31) and second-grade (N=30) elementary schoolchildren. In accordance with the developmental theory of understanding numbers it was presupposed that younger children construct numbers as wholes composed of single elements, while first and second-grade schoolchildren have several more complex constructions. The examinees’ task was to present five numbers given in random order by using squares for ones and tens. In the second attempt the examinees were supposed to present the same numbers in a different, new way. The children’s correct constructions were divided into the following categories: 1) representations one-by-one, 2) canonical representations and 3) non-canonical representations. The results indicate that there are no differences between girls and boys in the tasks completed. Analyses with regard to the children’s age demonstrate that in the first attempt of construction the second-grade children have less one-by-one representations and more canonical representations than the other two groups of examinees. In non-canonical representations there are no differences among the groups examined.

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