PhET Interactive Simulations (https://phet.colorado.edu/), a project of the University of Colorado Boulder, provides fun, free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations for use across, primary, secondary, and higher education levels. We extensively test and evaluate each simulation to ensure educational effectiveness. All simulations are open source and free to all students and teachers.
Number Sense for Primary Education with PhET Simulations
Number Sense for Primary Education with PhET Simulations
Instructors: Rebecca Vieyra
Instructors
Access provided by ExxonMobil
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Beginner level
Recommended experience
Recommended experience
Beginner level
This course is appropriate for pre-service and in-service kindergarten through second-grade teachers (approximately ages 5-7).
2 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Beginner level
Recommended experience
Recommended experience
Beginner level
This course is appropriate for pre-service and in-service kindergarten through second-grade teachers (approximately ages 5-7).
2 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
What you'll learn
Develop familiarity with number sense through Number Play, Number Pairs, Number Compare, and Make a Ten PhET simulations.
Reflect on strategies to teach number sense: number talks, small groups, demos, storytelling, and predictions, while maximizing student talk.
Reflect on equitable strategies to support multilingual learners as they participate in math discourse practices.
Details to know
Shareable certificate
Add to your LinkedIn profile
Taught in English
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills
There are 12 modules in this course
In this module, you will activate your prior knowledge of what it means to have number sense, and brainstorm ways to support all students.
What's included
2 videos10 readings8 assignments3 discussion prompts1 plugin
2 videos• Total 7 minutes
- Teachers Summarize Their Reflections on Teaching Number Sense• 2 minutes
- Teachers Share Features Discovered in Number Play• 6 minutes
10 readings• Total 17 minutes
- Course Updates and Accessibility Support• 1 minute
- Welcome!• 1 minute
- Teaching Foundational Math• 2 minutes
- Teaching Number Sense• 1 minute
- Poster Reflections• 2 minutes
- Open Play• 5 minutes
- Intentional Design Features of a PhET Simulation• 1 minute
- Benefits of Open Play• 2 minutes
- Facilitation Tips for Open Play• 1 minute
- Introducing the Next Modules• 1 minute
8 assignments• Total 39 minutes
- Activate Prior Knowledge• 5 minutes
- Practical Guidelines for Supporting Multilingual Students• 2 minutes
- Introduction to the Five Counting Principles• 5 minutes
- Principle #1: Standard Order• 5 minutes
- Principle #2: One to One Correspondence• 5 minutes
- Principle #3: Cardinality• 5 minutes
- Principle #4: Conservation of Cardinality• 7 minutes
- Principle #5: The Successor• 5 minutes
3 discussion prompts• Total 15 minutes
- Supporting Multilingual Students while Building Number Sense• 5 minutes
- Features of Number Play• 5 minutes
- Benefits of Open Play• 5 minutes
1 plugin• Total 3 minutes
- Pre-Survey• 3 minutes
It is common for many students–and their teachers–to approach math with some trepidation. This module aims to help you unpack how you and your students might approach math, and what you can do to shift from math anxiety toward mathematical curiosity and joy.
What's included
1 reading1 assignment2 discussion prompts
1 reading• Total 5 minutes
- K-2 Teacher Responses• 5 minutes
1 assignment• Total 5 minutes
- Math Identity• 5 minutes
2 discussion prompts• Total 9 minutes
- Reflecting on Your Own Math Identity• 5 minutes
- Building Students’ Positive Math Identities• 4 minutes
In this module, you will learn the importance of providing a strong foundation of number sense for early mathematics learners, specifically to diverse populations.
What's included
2 readings2 discussion prompts
2 readings• Total 8 minutes
- Teaching Diverse Student Populations - Multilingual Learners• 3 minutes
- Asset Versus Deficit Thinking• 5 minutes
2 discussion prompts• Total 10 minutes
- My Context• 5 minutes
- Multilingual Learners in Your Classroom• 5 minutes
In this module, you will learn how to effectively facilitate a lesson using the Number Play simulation.
What's included
8 videos19 readings1 assignment17 discussion prompts
8 videos• Total 32 minutes
- Teachers Engaging with Drag and Count• 4 minutes
- Teachers Discussing the New Arrangement of 18• 6 minutes
- My Mystery Number Setup• 1 minute
- Changing Puppy Arrangements with Play Area Closed• 1 minute
- Teachers Discuss Representations in My Mystery Number• 4 minutes
- Teachers Analyze Knowledge and Brainstorm Facilitation Moves• 5 minutes
- Teachers’ Discoveries from the Lab Screen, and 13 - 8 Solutions• 7 minutes
- Teachers Discuss Contexts• 4 minutes
19 readings• Total 70 minutes
- Introduction to the Activity• 1 minute
- Drag and Count (Part I)• 10 minutes
- Drag and Count (Part II)• 5 minutes
- Mapping Drag and Count to Standards• 3 minutes
- Drag and Count Lesson Plan• 1 minute
- Establishing a Growth Mindset • 4 minutes
- My Mystery Number• 1 minute
- My Mystery Number (Part I) • 2 minutes
- Cognitive Dissonance• 1 minute
- Mapping the Standards to My Mystery Number• 5 minutes
- My Mystery Number Lesson Plan• 1 minute
- Facilitation Moves• 1 minute
- Student Scenario with My Mystery Number• 10 minutes
- Lab Screen Open Play• 5 minutes
- Lab Screen Design• 2 minutes
- Introduction to Subtraction Stories• 5 minutes
- Subtraction Stories • 10 minutes
- Mapping the Standards to Subtraction Stories• 2 minutes
- Subtraction Stories Lesson Plan• 1 minute
1 assignment• Total 20 minutes
- Mathematical Mindset• 20 minutes
17 discussion prompts• Total 85 minutes
- Pause – Analyze as a Student• 5 minutes
- Pause – Analyze as a Teacher• 5 minutes
- Pause – Analyze as a Student• 5 minutes
- Pause – Analyze as a Teacher• 5 minutes
- Pause – Analyze as a Teacher• 5 minutes
- Pros and Cons to Secretly Manipulating the Puppies’ Arrangement• 5 minutes
- Connecting Cognitive Dissonance to Growth Mindset• 5 minutes
- Reflecting on Standards• 5 minutes
- My Mystery Number (Part II)• 5 minutes
- Analyze My Mystery Number• 5 minutes
- Analyzing the Student Scenario• 5 minutes
- Extending the Student Scenario• 5 minutes
- Lab Screen• 5 minutes
- Pause – Analyze as a Student• 5 minutes
- Lab Screen and 13 – 8• 5 minutes
- Reflecting on the Lab Screen• 5 minutes
- Final Reflection on Number Play• 5 minutes
In this module, you will learn how to effectively facilitate a lesson utilizing the simulation, Number Pairs, which will continue to build a foundation for composing and decomposing numbers within 0-20, and adding two numbers to create sums from 0-20. Multiple contexts allow for learners to engage in two problem types in which both addends are unknown: location-based and attribute-based (Champagne et al., 2014). In location-based problems, the addends are separated in distinct ways, such as in separate piles, or on the left and right side of a simulation. In attribute-based problems, the addends are distinguished by an attribute, such as color. Number Pairs includes both problem types to better connect to each student’s thinking, regardless of how they visualize two addends. Reference: Champagne, Z. M., Schoen, R., & Riddle, C. M. (2014, September). Variations in both addends unknown problems. Teaching Children Mathematics, 21(2), 114–121.
What's included
6 readings5 discussion prompts
6 readings• Total 50 minutes
- Open Play with Number Pairs• 5 minutes
- How Many Apples?• 10 minutes
- How Many Apples? (continued)• 10 minutes
- How Many Apples? (continued)• 10 minutes
- How Many Apples? (continued)• 10 minutes
- Setup and Lesson Plan for How Many Apples?• 5 minutes
5 discussion prompts• Total 25 minutes
- Reflecting on Open Play• 5 minutes
- Pause - Reflect as a Learner• 5 minutes
- Pause - Reflect as a Teacher• 5 minutes
- Pause - Reflect as a Teacher• 5 minutes
- Reflect on How Many Apples?• 5 minutes
In this module, you will learn how to leverage the functionality of Number Compare to support students’ learning of how to compare numbers in multiple ways.
What's included
4 videos16 readings8 discussion prompts
4 videos• Total 12 minutes
- Teachers Debrief Number Compare Open Play• 3 minutes
- Teacher Solutions for True or False?• 4 minutes
- Teachers Debrief True or False? Extensions• 3 minutes
- Teachers Brainstorm How to Establish 1-to-1 Correspondence• 1 minute
16 readings• Total 75 minutes
- Open Play with Number Compare• 5 minutes
- Summarizing Number Compare Open Play• 1 minute
- Activity 1: True or False?• 2 minutes
- Teacher Solutions for True or False?• 1 minute
- Mapping the Standards to True or False?• 4 minutes
- Extending True or False?• 5 minutes
- Preparing for a Video• 10 minutes
- Lesson Plan for True or False?• 4 minutes
- Introduction to Compare the Vertical Number Line• 2 minutes
- Mapping the Standards to Compare Vertical Number Line• 3 minutes
- Facilitation of Compare the Vertical Number Line• 10 minutes
- Pause - Reflect as a Teacher• 3 minutes
- Facilitation of the Lesson Continued• 10 minutes
- Lesson Plan: Compare the Vertical Number Line• 3 minutes
- Introducing Two More Puppies• 2 minutes
- Two More Puppies Vignette• 10 minutes
8 discussion prompts• Total 41 minutes
- Reflecting on Open Play• 5 minutes
- Pause - Reflect as a Learner• 5 minutes
- Reflect as a Teacher on True or False?• 5 minutes
- True or False?• 5 minutes
- Pause - Reflect as a Learner• 3 minutes
- Reflect: Compare the Vertical Number Line• 8 minutes
- Compare and Contrast Question Types• 5 minutes
- Summarizing Number Compare• 5 minutes
In this module, you will learn about PhET’s teaching philosophy and how this philosophy is supported with meaningful sim-based lessons.
What's included
1 video12 readings4 discussion prompts
1 video• Total 5 minutes
- PhET Founder on the Impact of Simulations• 5 minutes
12 readings• Total 16 minutes
- Foundations of PhET’s Teaching Philosophy• 1 minute
- Positive Learning Environment and Equity• 2 minutes
- PhET’s Philosophy and Relationship to Learning Environment and Equity • 1 minute
- PhET’s Equity Framework• 2 minutes
- Relevance, Representation, and Accessibility • 2 minutes
- Active Learning with PhET as a Foundation for Equity • 2 minutes
- Address Students’ Prior Knowledge • 1 minute
- Connect to Context • 1 minute
- Support Collaboration• 1 minute
- Promote Belonging • 1 minute
- Provide Scaffolding• 1 minute
- Assessments as Learning Opportunities• 1 minute
4 discussion prompts• Total 20 minutes
- Equity in Your Classroom• 5 minutes
- Reflecting on Positive Learning Environment • 5 minutes
- Equity Framework• 5 minutes
- Active Learning• 5 minutes
In this module, we now return to sample lessons, with which you will learn how to effectively facilitate a lesson utilizing another simulation called Make a Ten.
What's included
4 videos15 readings10 discussion prompts
4 videos• Total 15 minutes
- Teachers Debrief Open Play with Make a Ten• 6 minutes
- Number Talk with Make a Ten• 3 minutes
- Watch a Student Play with Make a Ten• 4 minutes
- Teachers Debrief Video of Student Playing• 2 minutes
15 readings• Total 70 minutes
- Make a Ten Simulation• 2 minutes
- Open Play with Make a Ten• 5 minutes
- Choral Counting• 5 minutes
- Mapping the Standards to Choral Counting• 2 minutes
- Choral Counting Lesson Plan• 2 minutes
- What is Greater or Less? (Part I – Lesson Setup)• 5 minutes
- Which is Greater or Less? (Part II – Lesson Discourse)• 5 minutes
- Which is Greater or Less? (Part III - Selecting and Sequencing)• 5 minutes
- Which is Greater or Less? (Part IV – Summarizing)• 10 minutes
- Mapping the Standards to What is Greater or Less?• 1 minute
- Which is Greater or Less? Lesson Plan• 1 minute
- What Is a Number Talk?• 2 minutes
- Number Talk with 12• 5 minutes
- Watch a Number Talk (Part I)• 18 minutes
- Observing Students• 2 minutes
10 discussion prompts• Total 50 minutes
- Reflecting on Open Play• 5 minutes
- Analyze Choral Counting• 5 minutes
- Pause - Reflect as a Teacher• 5 minutes
- Pause - Analyze as a Student• 5 minutes
- Pause - Analyze as a Teacher• 5 minutes
- Selecting and Sequencing• 5 minutes
- Which is Greater or Less?• 5 minutes
- Number Talks with Make a Ten• 5 minutes
- Observing Students• 5 minutes
- Final Reflection for Make a Ten• 5 minutes
In this module, you will learn how to build effective sim-based lessons in different contexts.
What's included
17 readings6 discussion prompts
17 readings• Total 74 minutes
- Lesson Types• 2 minutes
- Learning Goals• 5 minutes
- Teacher-Led Investigation (TLI)• 1 minute
- Student-Led Investigation (SLI)• 2 minutes
- Combining TLI and SLI• 1 minute
- Prediction Questions vs. Challenge Prompts• 5 minutes
- Open Play with Area Builder• 5 minutes
- Prediction Questions (Part I)• 5 minutes
- Prediction Questions (Part II)• 10 minutes
- Summary of Facilitation a Prediction Question• 3 minutes
- Challenge Prompts (Part I)• 5 minutes
- Challenge Prompts (Part II)• 2 minutes
- Challenge Prompt via an SLI (Part I)• 5 minutes
- Challenge Prompt via an SLI (Part II)• 15 minutes
- Challenge Prompt Summary• 1 minute
- Summarizing Facilitation of a Challenge Prompt• 3 minutes
- Challenge Prompt Types• 4 minutes
6 discussion prompts• Total 30 minutes
- Write Example Learning Goals• 5 minutes
- Reflecting on Open Play• 5 minutes
- Benefits of Prediction Questions• 5 minutes
- Pause - Provide Your Solution• 5 minutes
- Benefits of Challenge Prompts and Prediction Questions• 5 minutes
- Create a Challenge Prompt• 5 minutes
In this module, you will learn about resources available on the PhET website that can support you as you plan to use simulations with your students.
What's included
7 readings1 assignment1 discussion prompt
7 readings• Total 32 minutes
- Teacher Access to PhET Sims• 5 minutes
- Student Access to PhET Sims• 2 minutes
- Create a PhET Teacher Account• 5 minutes
- Using Teacher Tips• 5 minutes
- Example Customized URLs• 5 minutes
- Customize a URL• 5 minutes
- Activities for Number Play• 5 minutes
1 assignment• Total 2 minutes
- Activities for Number Play• 2 minutes
1 discussion prompt• Total 5 minutes
- Using a Customization Option• 5 minutes
This module is a summary and wrap-up of the simulations and resources with which you have engaged in this course. As you think about your experience with the simulations and accompanying lessons, reflect on ways the sims and lessons support student confidence, agency, ownership, growth mindset, and positive mathematical identity in all learners.
What's included
4 readings1 peer review2 discussion prompts
4 readings• Total 67 minutes
- Key Concepts• 2 minutes
- Planning a Lesson• 5 minutes
- Choose Your Sim and Draft Your Lesson!• 30 minutes
- Supporting Multilingual Learners - Applying the Practice• 30 minutes
1 peer review• Total 60 minutes
- Submit Lesson and Peer Review Others' Lessons• 60 minutes
2 discussion prompts• Total 10 minutes
- Synthesizing the Concepts• 5 minutes
- Brainstorming Other Activities• 5 minutes
In this module, you will take appropriate steps to complete the course and download your certificate.
What's included
1 reading1 assignment1 plugin
1 reading• Total 1 minute
- Get Your Certificate• 1 minute
1 assignment• Total 20 minutes
- Self-Assessing against Learning Objectives• 20 minutes
1 plugin• Total 5 minutes
- Course Evaluation• 5 minutes
Instructors
Offered by
Offered by
University of Colorado Boulder
CU Boulder is a dynamic community of scholars and learners on one of the most spectacular college campuses in the country. As one of 34 U.S. public institutions in the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), we have a proud tradition of academic excellence, with five Nobel laureates and more than 50 members of prestigious academic academies.
Why people choose Coursera for their career
Felipe M.
Learner since 2018
"To be able to take courses at my own pace and rhythm has been an amazing experience. I can learn whenever it fits my schedule and mood."
Jennifer J.
Learner since 2020
"I directly applied the concepts and skills I learned from my courses to an exciting new project at work."
Larry W.
Learner since 2021
"When I need courses on topics that my university doesn't offer, Coursera is one of the best places to go."
Chaitanya A.
"Learning isn't just about being better at your job: it's so much more than that. Coursera allows me to learn without limits."
Explore more from Social Sciences
UUniversity of Colorado Boulder
Course
UUniversity of Colorado Boulder
Course
UUniversity of Colorado Boulder
Course
UUniversity of Colorado Boulder
Course
Âą Some assignments in this course are AI-graded. For these assignments, your data will be used in accordance with Coursera's Privacy Notice.