Relations among spatial skills, number line estimation, and exact and approximate calculation in young children

The relationship of spatial visualization ability and number representation: evidence from multiple tasks

It is well established in the literature that the relation of spatial ability and the number representation, but the intrinsic relation of spatial visualization ability and number representation are not well understood. In the Current study, Chinese Preschool children (N = 200; 107 girls; Mage = 5.47years, SD = 0.67) completed two kinds of spatial visualization tasks and six kinds of number representation tasks. The results showed that spatial visualization ability was positively correlated with number representation for 5 years-old Children. Furthermore, spatial visualization ability can positively predicted number representation. These findings are consistent with the view that spatial visualization is recognized for its potential to enhance numerical skills, encompassing competencies associated with fundamental number. Therefore, developing children's spatial visualization ability may be an effective way to enhance their number representation skills. This has important implications for early education and intervention strategies.

Gender differences in elementary school students' fraction learning: roles of spatial ability and mathematical anxiety

Aim

In this study, we examined gender differences in fraction learning and explored potential underlying mechanisms.

Methods

The mediating effects of spatial ability and mathematical anxiety on gender differences in fraction learning were tested in elementary school students. A total of 165 sixth-grade students (83 girls) from public elementary schools participated in the study. All participants completed a series of tasks, including a mathematical anxiety test, two spatial ability tasks (spatial working memory and mental rotation tests), and a fraction knowledge test (incorporating fraction arithmetic, fraction number line, and fraction concept knowledge).

Results

Significant gender differences exist in student performance in terms of fractional arithmetic, fractional number line estimation, mathematical anxiety, and spatial working memory. We also identified a chain-mediating effect of spatial working memory and mathematical anxiety on the relationship between gender and fractional arithmetic.

Conclusion

The findings suggest a developmental pathway linking gender differences in spatial cognition to fraction learning, contributing to a better understanding of the cognitive and affective factors underlying gender differences in fraction learning during early adolescence. Furthermore, there are several practical implications for reducing gender differences in mathematics education during school years.

Unpacking associations among children's spatial skills, mathematics, and arithmetic strategies: decomposition matters

Several studies revealed links between mental rotation and mathematical tasks, but the intervening processes in this connection remain rather unexplored. Here, we aimed to investigate whether children's mental rotation skills relate to their accuracy in solving arithmetic problems via their usage of decomposition strategies, thus probing one potential intervening process. To this end, we examined a sample of 6- to 8-year-olds (N = 183) with a chronometric mental rotation task, and asked children to solve several arithmetic problems while assessing their solution strategies. After each arithmetic problem, children were asked about their strategy to solve the respective arithmetic problem and these were classified as either counting, decomposition, or retrieval strategies. Analyses were controlled for age, sex, fluid and verbal reasoning. Results indicated that children's response times and accuracy in the mental rotation task were best explained by linear functions of rotation angle, suggesting the usage of dynamic mental transformation strategies. A multiple mediation model revealed that children with higher mental rotation skills were more inclined to use higher-level mental strategies such as decomposition which in turn increased their accuracy of solving arithmetic problems. None of the other arithmetic strategies revealed significant indirect effects. These findings suggest that children with higher mental rotation skills may profit from visualizing and flexibly transforming numerical magnitudes, increasing the frequency of decomposition strategies. Overall, decomposition may play a unique role in the connection between children's mental rotation and arithmetic skills, which is an essential information for planning future training and experimental studies.

Understanding the complexities of mathematical cognition: A multi-level framework

Mathematics skills are associated with future employment, well-being, and quality of life. However, many adults and children fail to learn the mathematics skills they require. To improve this situation, we need to have a better understanding of the processes of learning and performing mathematics. Over the past two decades, there has been a substantial growth in psychological research focusing on mathematics. However, to make further progress, we need to pay greater attention to the nature of, and multiple elements involved in, mathematical cognition. Mathematics is not a single construct; rather, overall mathematics achievement is comprised of proficiency with specific components of mathematics (e.g., number fact knowledge, algebraic thinking), which in turn recruit basic mathematical processes (e.g., magnitude comparison, pattern recognition). General cognitive skills and different learning experiences influence the development of each component of mathematics as well as the links between them. Here, I propose and provide evidence for a framework that structures how these components of mathematics fit together. This framework allows us to make sense of the proliferation of empirical findings concerning influences on mathematical cognition and can guide the questions we ask, identifying where we are missing both research evidence and models of specific mechanisms.