A Developmental Analysis of Notational Counting.

SAXE, GEOFFREY B. A Developmental Analysis of Notational Counting. CmLD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 1512-1520. The 2 studies of this report trace the child's acquisition of counting as a means to extract, compare, and reproduce number from arrays of objects. In study 1, 3-, 4-, and 7-year-olds' use of counting to compare and reproduce arrays numerically was analyzed with respect to 2 features: (1) counting accuracy, and (2) counting strategy. In study 2, 9 of the 3-year-olds who participated in study 1 were retested 12 and 18 months following their initial assessments. As predicted, in both studies there was an age-related improvement in accuracy which was interrelated with a progression from the use of prequantitative to the use of quantitative counting strategies to compare and reproduce number.