Investigating Evidence of Girls’ and Boys’ Early Symmetry Knowledge Through Multiple Modes of Assessment

Symmetry is a fundamental geometric concept that receives minimal attention in early childhood curriculum. This study sought to explore the relationships between children’s accurate identification and explanation of symmetric transformations after a symmetry software intervention and children’s performance on a post-test that asked students to draw symmetric transformations and identify lines of symmetry. This study also sought to explore whether the relationships between these measures differed for girls and for boys. Positive correlations between accurate symmetry identification and the domains assessed at post-test and between explanations of symmetries and the domains assessed at post-test were found for participants overall, and similar patterns were found for girls and for boys. The findings have implications for software learning opportunities and modes of assessment for all children