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It argues that mathematics supports broader cognition, reading, language, social competencies, and executive function, and helps students learn to reason, justify, and inhibit impulsive responses through high-quality math experiences. It also distinguishes how math establishes “truth” via logic and proof versus how STE relies on scientific testing and social consensus.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/rethinking-stem-in-the-elementary-grades-honoring-the-special-role-of-math-in-cognitive-development/591207/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/rethinking-stem-in-the-elementary-grades-honoring-the-special-role-of-math-in-cognitive-development/591207.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"eBook King","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":19},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why do the authors urge reflection on math’s role in STEM education?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"They note that embedding math in STEM can reinforce STEM concepts, but problems may arise if STEM disciplines’ core attributes are not respected, leading to overload and missed domain-specific content.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does high-quality math learning affect students beyond STEM?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The article states that it may support reading, language, social competencies, and executive function, and it is presented as a strong predictor of graduating high school.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What is the difference in how math and STE establish “truth”?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Math is said to establish validity through logic, reasoning, and proof within the mind’s structure and content, while STE validity comes from testing ideas in the world and reaching social consensus on results.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},591207,1792696220,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":19,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":29,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},962088006270,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45","Rethinking STEM in the Elementary Grades  \nHonoring the Special Role of Math in Cognitive Development  \nILLUSTRAT IONS BY ENRIQUE MOREIRO  \nBy Douglas H. Clements and Julie Sarama  \nT  \nhere is a growing interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) units and projects in the early childhood and elementary years.1 As former teachers turned researchers, we welcome this nascent move-  \nment, but because of our experience we suggest reflection and caution—particularly regarding the role of math in STEM education. There are many advantages of embedding math in STEM  \nDouglas H. Clements, a former preschool and kindergarten teacher, is a Distinguished University Professor, the Kennedy Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Learning, and the executive director of theMarsico Institute for Early Learning at the University of Denver. He served on the National Mathematics Advisory Panel and the National Research Council’s Committee on Early Childhood Mathematics. Julie Sarama, who has taught mathematics in preschool through high school, is a Distinguished University Professor and the Kennedy Endowed Chair in Innovative Learning Technologies atthe University of Denver. Together, Clements and Sarama published Learning and Teaching Early Math: The Learning Trajectories Approach. This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DRL-1020118. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of theNSF.  \ncontexts and activities; it can be excellent for reinforcing math (as well as science, technology, and engineering) concepts and skills. However, there maybe unintended problems. Especially if the core attributes of the disciplines are not respected, students can become overloaded with the number of new STEM concepts, and essential domain-specific content maybe missed. We provide an alternative interdisciplinary approach that maintains the positive aspects of STEM through careful integration while minimizing the possible negatives by focusing on the content that students most need to master. Math is at the top of that list.  \nThe Role of Mathematics  \nArguably, math plays a central role in the sciences. Throughout the world, almost every STEM advance (from more efficient solar energy to telescopes that probe deeper into the universe) is expressed in the language of math. And throughout schooling, mathematical development is central not only to STEM but also to overall school success. For example, the more math courses students take in high school, the higher their performance in college math, biology, chemistry, and physics courses. In fact, taking more high school math courses increases achievement in the sciences as much as, or even more than, taking more science courses!2  \n16 AMERICAN EDUCATOR | SPRING 2023  \nPerhaps more surprisingly, high-quality math learning may contribute to students’ development of reading,3 language,4 social competencies,5 and executive function.6 It’s also the best predictor of graduating high school.7 High-quality math experiences always encourage students to answer questions such as “How do you know?,” What is your strategy?,” and “Can you prove that?” Students have to dig deeply, metacognitively (thinking about their own thinking), to answer such questions, building both language and executive function competencies. Even everyday word problems help develop language and executive function. Reading,“There are six birds in a tree. Three birds already flew away. How many birds were there from the start?,”students have to inhibit the immediate desire to subtract engendered by the phrase “flew away” and instead figure out the sum six plus three.8 This need to inhibit the first impulse to answer and carefully examine the problem might be a key reason why math contributes so much to later achievement in all subjects, including science. Such inhibition is an essentia","cbCaivIkNDfFp9gr","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivIkNDfFp9gr","pdf",1441328,"English","# The Role of Mathematics\n## Mathematics and cognition\n## Establishing Truth: STE vs. Math","[{\"question\":\"Why do the authors urge reflection on math’s role in STEM education?\",\"answer\":\"They note that embedding math in STEM can reinforce STEM concepts, but problems may arise if STEM disciplines’ core attributes are not respected, leading to overload and missed domain-specific content.\"},{\"question\":\"How does high-quality math learning affect students beyond STEM?\",\"answer\":\"The article states that it may support reading, language, social competencies, and executive function, and it is presented as a strong predictor of graduating high school.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the difference in how math and STE establish “truth”?\",\"answer\":\"Math is said to establish validity through logic, reasoning, and proof within the mind’s structure and content, while STE validity comes from testing ideas in the world and reaching social consensus on results.\"}]","Rethinking STEM in the Elementary Grades - Honoring the Special Role of Math in Cognitive Development | PDF",1792071335,15]