Preschool Data Toolbox 1.0.1

The Preschool Data Toolbox app by Gracie & Friends® offers a comprehensive platform for data collection, visualization, and analysis tailored to preschool learners. Users can select from six predefined investigations featuring developmentally appropriate research questions or design custom investigations to explore and develop data stories. These activities are designed to promote meaningful engagement in mathematics, fostering skills such as computational thinking, problem-solving, communication, and inquiry.

Key features include:

• Six structured investigations with guiding research questions
• Options to create custom investigations
• In-app data collection capabilities
• Data visualization tools, including pictographs, bar graphs, and tally charts
• Analysis and sorting functionalities for data examination
• Annotation tools for graph elaboration
• Graph comparison features
• A slider to switch between pictographs and bar graphs
• Discussion prompts to facilitate analytical thinking and learning
• A data story function for presenting findings
• A comprehensive teacher's guide with lesson plans
• Alignment with research-based early math learning trajectories
• No in-app purchases or advertising

The app’s pedagogical approach aims to support preschool children in practicing foundational mathematical concepts—such as counting, sorting, comparing, and ordering—through active participation in collecting and discussing real-world data. It encourages inquiry-driven learning by engaging children in meaningful questions about their environment.

Complementing the digital component, First 8 Studios emphasizes the importance of hands-on, tactile activities. Each digital investigation is supported by approximately five researched and designed interactive physical tasks that reinforce learning through active play. Additional resources can be explored at first8studios.org.

Developed by GBH Kids’ First 8 Studios, an organization dedicated to creating research-based educational media for children from birth to age eight, this initiative reflects a commitment to ongoing collaboration with educators and children. The work integrates evidence from iterative research phases aimed at enhancing preschoolers’ understanding of data collection and analysis while supporting their broader mathematical development.

First 8 Studios @ GBH Kids prioritizes children's safety by not collecting personally identifiable information. Please refer to the complete Privacy Policy at https://first8studios.org/privacypolicy.html.

The Early Math with Gracie & Friends® branding and associated characters are trademarks of First 8 Studios @ GBH Kids. This app was produced by GBH Kids with funding from the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DRL-1933698. The content reflects the authors' views and does not necessarily represent NSF official positions.