{"title":"Ruler by Steps (RbySteps): Exploring Length Measurement with Young Children Through a Sequential Ruler Construction","authors":"Ariadna Gómezescobar","doi":"10.1007/s10643-025-01915-w","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Measuring lengths with a ruler poses a challenging task for young children, who often struggle with issues related to identifying the unit on the measuring instrument and interpreting the starting point of the measurement. This study introduces RbySteps, a didactic sequencing proposal designed to address these difficulties by simulating the step-by-step construction of a ruler, significantly including the elements of the ruler: numbers, marks and units. A total of 36 children enrolled in the final year of early childhood education (5–6 years old) participated in the study, of whom 19 were assigned to an experimental group and utilized RbySteps, while the other 17, constituting the control group, followed a conventional length teaching format. Following the intervention, the experimental group demonstrated enhanced proficiency in measuring lengths with a ruler, whereas the control group showed no similar improvement. This leads to the proposal of a Hypothetical Learning Trajectory (HLT) for length measurement with a ruler based on RbySteps.</p>","PeriodicalId":47818,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Education Journal","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Early Childhood Education Journal","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-01915-w","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Measuring lengths with a ruler poses a challenging task for young children, who often struggle with issues related to identifying the unit on the measuring instrument and interpreting the starting point of the measurement. This study introduces RbySteps, a didactic sequencing proposal designed to address these difficulties by simulating the step-by-step construction of a ruler, significantly including the elements of the ruler: numbers, marks and units. A total of 36 children enrolled in the final year of early childhood education (5–6 years old) participated in the study, of whom 19 were assigned to an experimental group and utilized RbySteps, while the other 17, constituting the control group, followed a conventional length teaching format. Following the intervention, the experimental group demonstrated enhanced proficiency in measuring lengths with a ruler, whereas the control group showed no similar improvement. This leads to the proposal of a Hypothetical Learning Trajectory (HLT) for length measurement with a ruler based on RbySteps.
期刊介绍：
Early Childhood Education Journal is a professional publication of original peer-reviewed articles that reflect exemplary practices in the field of contemporary early childhood education. Articles cover the social, physical, emotional, and intellectual development of children age birth through 8, analyzing issues, trends, and practices from an educational perspective. The journal publishes feature-length articles that skillfully blend 1) theory, research, and practice, 2) descriptions of outstanding early childhood programs worldwide, and 3) quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research. Early Childhood Education Journal is of interest not only to classroom teachers, child care providers, college and university faculty, and administrators, but also to other professionals in psychology, health care, family relations, and social services dedicated to the care of young children.
Areas of Emphasis:
International studies;
Educational programs in diverse settings;
Early learning across multiple domains;
Projects demonstrating inter-professional collaboration;
Qualitative and quantitative research and case studies;
Best practices in early childhood teacher education;
Theory, research, and practice relating to professional development;
Family, school, and community relationships;
Investigations related to curriculum and instruction;
Articles that link theory and best practices;
Reviews of research with well-articulated connections to the field
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