*6.2.3 Tessellation*

Tessellation of shapes became some of the students' activity and the amount of time spend on it was greater than other activities. This tessellation was **side by side** tessellation as shown in **Figure 6**.

The tessellation of shapes that emerged from learners created an assumption that they will be enjoy and be able to complete the frames using the shapes they were playing with.

### *6.2.4 Piling*

When learners are given these pattern frames to play with below are their strategies. Some learners tried to fill up as shown in **Figure 7** but were challenged by the angles. Some learners piled up the shapes instead of filling up the frames.

**91**

**7. Discussion**

*Students' piling of shapes.*

**Figure 7.**

**Figure 6.**

*Students' tessellation structures.*

*Self-Regulation in Early Years of Learning Mathematics: Grade R Observed Self-Efficacy Skills…*

Generally, the findings show the importance of free play in providing educators an opportunity to get access to students' intuitions and interests. Secondly, it is important to observe children without interfering and be patient in order to gain entree to their way of thinking. For example, when the researcher observed that students were tessellating shapes, she made an assumption that they will enjoy filling the pattern frames, instead students piled the pattern blocks to indicate how the perceive space. This could allow the educator to understand that the two dimensional space is not the first practical encounter for young students. Building structures might have become natural for these students. This also challenges the curriculum that always introduces the two dimensional space to students first versus connecting with their experience of the three dimensional space.

Aligning students' intuitive activities with the curriculum guide educators in understanding that counting and its concepts are innate abilities that need to be nurtured from the student's point of view. The findings of this study highlight the counting concepts such as rote counting, object counting, cardinality as concepts

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88497*

*Self-Regulation in Early Years of Learning Mathematics: Grade R Observed Self-Efficacy Skills… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88497*

**Figure 6.** *Students' tessellation structures.*

*Metacognition in Learning*

*6.2.1 Building of shapes*

*Students unstructured counting strategies.*

*6.2.2 Sorting*

**Figure 5.**

*6.2.3 Tessellation*

were playing with.

*6.2.4 Piling*

tessellation as shown in **Figure 6**.

**6.2 Three dimensional emerging spatial intuitions**

and were more skewed toward three dimensional reasoning.

sorting was including similar shapes together in the sorting.

Those who did not start by counting they made **geometrical structures** some of which were rectangular houses, yards in square shape and sleeping beds also in rectangle shapes. Most of their structures represented items at home or their homes

Bringing similar colours together by grouping them happened naturally from these students. Even when students encountered shapes, their first reaction was **to sort** them **into colours** before any other activity they wish to do. With shapes the

Tessellation of shapes became some of the students' activity and the amount of time spend on it was greater than other activities. This tessellation was **side by side**

The tessellation of shapes that emerged from learners created an assumption that they will be enjoy and be able to complete the frames using the shapes they

When learners are given these pattern frames to play with below are their strategies. Some learners tried to fill up as shown in **Figure 7** but were challenged by the

angles. Some learners piled up the shapes instead of filling up the frames.

**90**

**Figure 7.** *Students' piling of shapes.*
