Relative Contributions of g and Basic Domain-Specific Mathematics Skills to Complex Mathematics Competencies

Meta-analytic structural equation modeling was used to estimate the relative contributions of general cognitive ability or g (defined by executive functions, short-term memory, and intelligence) and basic domain-specific mathematical abilities to performance in more complex mathematics domains. The domain-specific abilities included mathematics fluency (e.g., speed of retrieving basic facts), computational skills (i.e., accuracy at solving multi-step arithmetic, algebra, or geometry problems), and word problems (i.e., mathematics problems presented in narrative form). The core analysis included 448 independent samples and 431,344 participants and revealed that g predicted performance in all three mathematics domains. Mathematics fluency contributed to the prediction of computational skills, and both mathematics fluency and computational skills predicted word problem performance, controlling g. The relative contribution of g was consistently larger than basic domain-specific abilities, although the latter may be underestimated. The patterns were similar across younger and older individuals, individuals with and without a disability (e.g., learning disability), concurrent and longitudinal assessments, and family socioeconomic status, and have implications for fostering mathematical development.

The impact of anxiety and life quality on the mathematical performance of dyscalculic middle school children

Dyscalculia is a specific difficulty in learning mathematics that strongly influences activities of daily living that require skills such as counting and simple mathematical operations. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of negative emotions on mathematical performance in children with and without developmental dyscalculia using psychosocial tests, a quality of life test, an anxiety test and the Zareki-R mathematical performance test. This pilot study was realized on a sample of 20 children in the first year of secondary school (a group of 10 dyscalculic children and another group of 10 control children with an average age of 12.65 years). Descriptive statistics showed that dyscalculic children had low scores on all Zareki-R subtests. The Mann Whitney analysis revealed a significant difference between dyscalculic children and typically developing children on the Zareki-R subtests and the quality of life test, but no significance was found for the anxiety test. Analysis of the ANOVA by gender revealed no significant differences for the three tests, and the opposite for the ANOVA by age (F = 3.86, dll = 2, p ˂ 0.05). Using multiple linear regression, the subtests of physical quality of life, emotional quality of life and academic quality of life were significantly different for the two groups. In conclusion, the psychosocial quality of life and the high level of anxiety in dyscalculic children strongly influence their performance in mathematics.

The role of working memory updating and capacity in children's mathematical abilities: A developmental cascade model

BACKGROUND

Previous studies indicated that working memory (WM) updating and WM capacity play essential roles in mathematical ability. However, it is unclear whether WM capacity mediates the effect of WM updating on mathematics, and whether the cascading effects vary with different mathematical domains.

AIMS

The current study aims to explore the longitudinal mediating role of WM capacity between WM updating and mathematical performance, and how the relations change with the age and domains.

SAMPLE

A total of 131 Chinese first-graders participated the study.

METHODS

Participants were required to complete tasks on WM updating and WM capacity in Grade 1 and Grade 2, as well as paper-and-pencil tests on mathematics achievement in Grade 3. The role of WM updating and capacity in the development of pupil's mathematical achievement was examined.

RESULTS

Results revealed that verbal WM updating in Grade 1 predicted basic arithmetic and logical-visuospatial ability in Grade 3 via its cascading effect on verbal WM capacity in Grade 2. Moreover, visuospatial WM updating in Grade 1 predicted visuospatial WM capacity in Grade 2. Visuospatial WM capacity in Grade 1 predicted logical-visuospatial ability in Grade 3 instead of basic arithmetic ability in Grade 3.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggested that WM updating exerts effect on pupil's mathematical performance via WM capacity, meanwhile, this effect depends on children's mathematics domain.

Association between motor and math skills in preschool children with typical development: Systematic review

Mathematics has been the subject in which many school-age children have revealed many difficulties. Research carried out in an attempt to understand the causes of failure in this area pointed to a positive association between mathematical performance and motor performance. Given the importance of math development in future school outcomes, knowing which specific motor components are most associated with math performance can help educators define better strategies for teaching mathematics. In this sense, the present systematic review study aimed to identify the components of motor skills most positively associated with mathematical performance in children with typical development who attend preschool. The PRISMA methodology (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) was used in this study. The databases searched were ERIC, PubMED, SciELO, Scopus and Web of Science. A total of 2,909 articles were identified, of which 18 were included in this systematic review. The main results showed positive associations between fine motor skills, namely fine motor coordination and visuomotor integration, and mathematical performance. The math skill of numerical counting was the most associated with FMS. The main characteristics of the instruments used showed that the tasks of copying figures or drawings are the most used to assess visuomotor integration and the tasks of handling objects with pinch-like movements are the most used to assess fine motor coordination. Given the importance of mathematical performance in future school results, identifying early children with difficulties in fine motor skills will help educators to design better strategies for teaching mathematical skills. In this sense, the need to identify instruments to assess fine motor skills in preschool children with characteristics that facilitate their administration by the educator in the classroom context, i.e., requiring little administration time, not requiring much experience or training, the possibility of being administered to the group/class, few material resources, and the results can be easily interpreted, classified, and associated with mathematical performance.

Relationships Between Mathematics Performance and Attitude to Mathematics: Influences of Gender, Test Anxiety, and Working Memory

Many studies have indicated that mathematics anxiety, and other negative attitudes and emotions toward mathematics, are pervasive and are associated with lower mathematical performance. Some previous research has suggested that working memory is related to both mathematics anxiety and mathematics. Moreover, both gender and chosen course of study (sciences vs. humanities) appeared likely to influence students’ attitudes to mathematics. In the present study, 40 university undergraduates completed a battery of assessments investigating working memory, attitude to mathematics, test anxiety. and mental and written arithmetic. Attitudes to mathematics were significantly associated with the other variables: working memory, test anxiety, and both measures of mathematical performance. The other variables were not strongly associated with one another. There were no gender differences in mathematical performance, but females exhibited more negative attitudes to mathematics and higher test anxiety than males. After controlling for test anxiety, there ceased to be significant gender differences in attitudes to mathematics. Science students had more positive attitudes to mathematics than humanities students, but the groups did not differ in test anxiety, Science students were better at written but not mental arithmetic. They were also better at working memory, but this was not a significant covariate when the groups were compared on mathematical performance and attitudes to mathematics The results are discussed, with particular focus on implications for future research on influences on mathematics anxiety.

Longitudinal Performance in Basic Numerical Skills Mediates the Relationship Between Socio-Economic Status and Mathematics Anxiety: Evidence From Chile

Socio-economic status (SES) and mathematical performance seem to be risk factors of mathematics anxiety (MA) in both children and adults. However, there is little evidence about how exactly these three constructs are related, especially during early stages of mathematical learning. In the present study, we assessed longitudinal performance in symbolic and non-symbolic basic numerical skills in pre-school and second grade students, as well as MA in second grade students. Participants were 451 children (average pre-school age = 5 years, 6 months) from 12 schools in Chile, which differed in school vulnerability index (SVI), an indicator of SES. We tested an explanatory model of MA that included SES and longitudinal performance in basic numerical skills as predictors. The results showed a direct effect of SES on MA and a mediating effect of performance in symbolic and non-symbolic comparison tasks in pre-school. However, in second grade, only performance in symbolic comparison significantly mediated the SES-MA relationship. These findings suggest that performance in non-symbolic comparison plays an important role in explaining MA at initial stages, but that its influence is no longer significant by the time children reach formal instruction in second grade. By contrast, as children's formal educational experience in mathematics increases, MA becomes linked primarily to symbolic numerical tasks. In sum, SES affects MA and this is due in part to the effect of SES on the development of numerical learning in pre-school, which in turn has an impact on subsequent, more complex learning, ultimately leading to differences in MA. We discuss the implications of these findings for preventing and acting upon the emergence of MA.

A Longitudinal Study

The main goal of this longitudinal study is to examine the power of different variables and its dynamic interactions in predicting mathematical performance. The model proposed in this study includes indicators of motivational constructs (learning motivation and attributions), executive functioning (inhibition and working memory), and early numeracy skills (logical operations, counting, and magnitude comparison abilities), assessed during kindergarten, and mathematical performance in the second year of Primary Education. The sample consisted of 180 subjects assessed in two moments (5-6 and 7-8 years old). The results showed an indirect effect of initial motivation on later mathematical performance. Executive functioning and early numeracy skills mediated the effect of motivation on later mathematic achievement. Practical implications of these findings for mathematics education are discussed.

Object-Spatial Imagery and Verbal Cognitive Styles in High School Students

The present study investigated object-spatial imagery and verbal cognitive styles in high school students. We analyzed the relationships between cognitive styles, object imagery ability, spatial visualization ability, verbal-logical reasoning ability, and preferred modes of processing math information. Data were collected from 348 students at six high schools in two school districts. Spatial imagery style was not correlated with object imagery style and was negatively correlated with verbal style. Object imagery style did not correlate significantly with any cognitive ability measure, whereas spatial imagery style significantly correlated with object imagery ability, spatial visualization ability, and verbal-logical reasoning ability. Lastly, spatial imagery style and verbal-logical reasoning ability significantly predicted students' preference for efficient visual methods. The results support the cognitive style model, in which visualizers are characterized as two distinct groups who process visual-spatial information and graphic tasks in different ways.

A synthesis of mathematical and cognitive performances of students with mathematics learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to synthesize the findings from 23 articles that compared the mathematical and cognitive performances of students with mathematics learning disabilities (LD) to (a) students with LD in mathematics and reading, (b) age- or grade-matched students with no LD, and (c) mathematical-ability-matched younger students with no LD. Overall results revealed that students with mathematics LD exhibited higher word problem-solving abilities and no significant group differences on working memory, long-term memory, and metacognition measures compared to students with LD in mathematics and reading. Findings also revealed students with mathematics LD demonstrated significantly lower performance compared to age- or grade-matched students with no LD on both mathematical and cognitive measures. Comparison between students with mathematics LD and younger students with no LD revealed mixed outcomes on mathematical measures and generally no significant group differences on cognitive measures.