The Effect of Instruction upon the Development of the Concept of Number

AbstractPurposes of this study were to assess young children’s understanding of number conservation and to examine the effect of instruction in accelerating the attainment of this concept. Of the 103 children, only nine could be classified as conservera on the basis of the Pretest. The remaining ninety-four, classified as nonconservers, were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. While the control group received no special instruction, the experimental group was provided with organized experiences designed to foster development of number conservation. After a five-week instructional period, both groups were retested. Results of the Posttest indicated that the experimental group made significant gains at the 1 percent level over the noninstructed group.