All Things CLASS

Great question! The way subitizing (recognizing a quantity without counting) is incorporated into instruction can determine whether it aligns more with Concept Development or falls into Rote Learning.

If a teacher simply asks, "How many are there?" and then helps children count, without deeper engagement, this leans more toward Rote Learning. It focuses on recall and basic counting without extending the child's thinking.

To promote Concept Development, the teacher could:
✔ Encourage analysis: "How did you know it was four without counting?"
✔ Make connections: "Can you find another way to show four?" or "What happens if we add one more?"
✔ Promote problem-solving: "If we had two groups of these, how many would we have in total?"

By adding these elements, the teacher moves beyond memorization to fostering children's higher-order thinking, which is key to Concept Development in CLASS.

Would love to hear what others think! 

Subitizing helps children learn to notice how many items are in a set by glancing at them . Does this lead to route counting? I say yes because it opens up their curiosity to counting how many items are in front of them. It is so exciting to see the joy on their faces when they are able to count and accurately tell the teacher and their parents the correct number. The question comes up does it stop here? No because they have inquiring minds and want to learn more about math.