Att verbalisera matematiken : en studie om matematik och språk i förskoleklass

Background: Mathematics is a subject that many students perceive as difficult. In recent years, results in mathematics declined, while many students have difficulties in the subject of Swedish. However, there is not much research on the relationship between difficulties in mathematics and language weaknesses. Purpose: The purpose of this work is to find out what role the advocate competence of learning opportunities for the students to understand mathematics. A further aim of this work is to find out how mathematics is verbalized and individualized in preschool and find out how teachers in those classes describes how they work to verbalize and individualize mathematics. Method: The purpose is answered by observations in preschool and interviews of the teachers working in the observed classes. The empirical data are discussed and analyzed with theories related to children's learning and literature of mathematics and language.Result: The results show that mathematics is extensively verbalized in preschool classes. The teachers claim they divide children into groups which are based on the children's skill levels, however, I see no lessons take into account children's different needs to the same extent as the teachers say. Conclusion: The lack of individualized education might be explained in that the teachers believe that they treat the children differently than they actually do. A likely explanation for this is that teachers do not reflect on how they work in practice