8,281 research outputs found

    Planning and self-control, but not working memory, directly predict multiplication performance in adults

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    Domain-General Factors Influencing Numerical and Arithmetic Processing

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    This special issue contains 18 articles that address the question how numerical processes interact with domain-general factors. We start the editorial with a discussion of how to define domain-general versus domain-specific factors and then discuss the contributions to this special issue grouped into two core numerical domains that are subject to domain-general influences (see Figure 1). The first group of contributions addresses the question how numbers interact with spatial factors. The second group of contributions is concerned with factors that determine and predict arithmetic understanding, performance and development. This special issue shows that domain-general (Table 1a) as well as domain-specific (Table 1b) abilities influence numerical and arithmetic performance virtually at all levels and make it clear that for the field of numerical cognition a sole focus on one or several domain-specific factors like the approximate number system or spatial-numerical associations is not sufficient. Vice versa, in most studies that included domain-general and domain-specific variables, domain-specific numerical variables predicted arithmetic performance above and beyond domain-general variables. Therefore, a sole focus on domain-general aspects such as, for example, working memory, to explain, predict and foster arithmetic learning is also not sufficient. Based on the articles in this special issue we conclude that both domain-general and domain-specific factors contribute to numerical cognition. But the how, why and when of their contribution still needs to be better understood. We hope that this special issue may be helpful to readers in constraining future theory and model building about the interplay of domain-specific and domain-general factors

    Self-Regulation and (Pre-)Academic Performance of Children and Young Adults in Germany and Iran

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    Self-regulation is a multidimensional construct that is defined as the ability to control thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and is positively related to academic achievement. Moreover, self-regulation is context-sensitive, suggesting that self-regulation abilities displayed by individuals might differ across different contexts. Germany and Iran provide two different contexts with distinct cultural characteristics that may affect self-regulation. In addition, up to this point, self-regulation has been mainly studied in Western countries with similar cultural contexts and there is a lack of research exploring self-regulation and its associations with academic performance in non-Western countries. Hence, the present dissertation investigated self-regulation and its association with (pre)academic performance in Germany and Iran with the aim of contributing to the better understanding of the context-sensitivity of self-regulation. The development of self-regulation in college students as young adults is deeply embedded in the context in which they grew up, besides they are yet engaged in education and academic performance. However, although the relation of self-regulation and academic performance is well established for children, studies investigating this relationship in adults are rather scarce, hence requiring further research. Accordingly, in the first step, Study 1 examined the relation of different aspects of self-regulation and mathematics performance in young adults. In the second step, Study 2 compared the relationship between self-regulation and mathematics performance in young adults in two different countries (i.e., Germany and Iran). Therefore, Study 1 and Study 2 are best considered in conjunction. Furthermore, the results of longitudinal studies in Western countries revealed that academic performance can be predicted by a child’s self-regulation abilities at preschool age. Considering dissimilar effects of different contexts on the development of self-regulation, these results suggest that there might be differences between German and Iranian children at preschool age with respect to self-regulation abilities, which could influence their academic performance in the future. Accordingly, in the third step, Study 3 investigated self-regulation abilities of German and Iranian children at preschool age before the start of their formal education. Study 1 aimed to investigate the relationship between self-regulation and mathematics performance in young adults. In Study 1, different aspects of self-regulation and mathematics performance were tested in 40 undergraduate German students aged between 19 and 21, of whom 33 were female. The findings showed that behavioral self-regulation did not predict mathematics performance, however, self-control, as an aspect of self-regulation, had a significant positive relationship with the mathematics performance. The results suggested that the college students with greater self-control abilities might have a greater ability to concentrate on the task and suppress unwanted thoughts or distracting information, and hence responded faster to the mathematic problems. Altogether, the findings demonstrated that the previously discovered positive relationship between self-control and mathematics performance in children is also valid in young adults. Study 2 aimed to investigate the relationship between self-regulation and mathematics performance in young adults in two different countries (Germany and Iran). Self-regulation and mathematics performance were assessed in 44 Iranian college students and the results were compared with Study 1, which examined the same relationship in German college students. Self-regulation was assessed by the same measure used to assess self-control, as an aspect of self-regulation, in Study 1. Mathematics performance was measured by the same mathematics task used in Study 1. Moreover, the field of study of the students was also considered in this study. The findings of this study showed that self-regulation predicted mathematics performance only in German students and not in Iranian students. However, when the field of study was taken into account for Iranian students, self-regulation also predicted mathematics performance in the subgroup of Iranian students studying Human Sciences. Moreover, the relationship between self-regulation and mathematics performance in German students did not differ significantly from the whole Iranian group nor from the Iranian students of Human Sciences. In sum, the main results indicated that the relationship between self-regulation and mathematics performance is similar between German and Iranian college students when the effect of the field of study is considered. Study 3 aimed to investigate the self-regulation abilities of German and Iranian preschool children in a delay of gratification task. Self-regulation ability was assessed in 100 Iranian and 48 German preschool children. Self-regulation ability was operationalized both as performance and strategies (i.e., focusing, withholding, distracting) used by children in a delay of gratification paradigm (Mischel, 1989). Children’s behaviors while performing a delay of gratification task were video recorded and rated later with respect to the strategies that direct attention towards a reward and away from it. The results showed that German children waited longer than their Iranian peers in the delay of gratification task. Focusing strategies that directed attention towards the reward undermined the performance in the delay of gratification task in German but not Iranian children. Moreover, German children used more withholding strategies than their Iranian peers to stop themselves from touching the reward. These results suggest that self-regulation abilities in children might vary between different countries at preschool age. Altogether, these findings provide empirical evidence for the acknowledgment of the context-sensitivity of self-regulation, which has so far been little investigated. The results showed that self-regulation abilities differed between German and Iranian preschool children. However, the association between self-regulation and mathematics performance of young adults was similar in these countries when the field of study was taken into account

    Problem Formatting, Domain Specificity, and Arithmetic Processing: The Promise of a Factor Analytic Framework

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    Leading theories of arithmetic cognition take a variety of positions regarding item formatting and its possible effects on encoding, retrieval, and calculation. The extent to which formats might require processing from domains other than mathematics (e.g., a language domain and/or an executive functioning domain) is unclear and an area in need of additional research. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate several leading theories of arithmetic cognition with attention to possible systematic measurement error associated with instrument formatting (method effects) and possible contributions of cognitive domains other than a quantitative domain that is specialized for numeric processing (trait effects). In order to simultaneously examine measurement methods and cognitive abilities, this research is approached from a multi-trait, multi-method factor analytic framework. A sample of 1959 3rd grade students (age M=103.24 months, SD=5.41 months) were selected for the current study from the baseline time points of a larger, longitudinal study conducted in southeastern metropolitan school districts. Abstract Code Theory, Encoding Complex Theory, Triple Code Theory, and the Exact versus Approximate Calculations Hypothesis (a specification of Triple Code Theory) were evaluated with confirmatory factor analysis, using 11 measures of arithmetic with symbolic problem formats (e.g., Arabic numeral and language-based formats) and various problem demands (e.g., requiring both exact and approximate calculations). In general, results from this study provided support for both Triple Code Theory and Encoding Complex Theory, and to some extent, Exact Versus Approximate Calculations Theory is also supported. As predicted by Triple Code Theory, arithmetic outcomes with language formatting, Arabic numeral formatting, and estimation demands across formats were related but distinct from one another. The relationship between problems that required exact calculations (across formats) also provided support for Exact Versus Approximate Calculations Theory’s stipulation that exact calculation problems may draw from the same cognitive processes. As predicted by Encoding Complex Theory, executive function was a direct predictor of all arithmetic outcomes. Language was not a direct predictor of arithmetic outcomes; however, the relationship between language and executive function suggested that language may play a facilitative role in reasoning during numeric processing, particularly for language-formatted problems

    Using Preschool to Close the Socioeconomic Math Achievement Gap

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    Socioeconomic status (SES) heavily influences students’ academic performance, creating an achievement gap in core subjects like reading and mathematics. This thesis will describe the socioeconomic achievement gap as it relates to mathematics specifically, discuss the problem’s causes, and propose how preschool programs should be implemented more prevalently as a solution to close the gap. Children with low socioeconomic statuses enter school with lower math proficiency due to their limited math exposure in their early years and the quality of their home learning environments. This thesis will propose an expansion of preschool programs as a solution to this problem to help mediate the proficiency in foundational math concepts of low-SES students prior to school entry

    Relationships between number skills and cognitive abilities in people with specific arithmetic difficulties and people with dyslexia

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    [Introduction]:Aims and rationale for the studiesThe overall aim of this thesis was to analyse the relationships between cognitive abilities and number skills in children and adults. Examining the links between number skills and cognitive abilities is important both to improve our theoretical knowledge and to inform practitioners who are assessing and teaching children who have number skills difficulties. One important theoretical debate that can be informed by this work is whether normally developing individuals solve problems involving numbers using distinct cognitive modules that are specialised for such work or whether they utilise more generalpurpose cognitive systems. If weaknesses in particular number skills are associated with particular cognitive deficits, it will support the hypothesis that people utilise their general cognitive architecture. Although research into the interactions between children's cognitive profiles and their responses to different teaching programmes is in the early stages, some studies have suggested that tailoring teaching to a child's cognitive profile can be effective. Therefore identifying groups of children with number skills difficulties that have homogeneous cognitive profiles may help in the design of future intervention strategies.ScopeThree main areas of investigation were conducted, all of which examined the links between cognitive abilities and number skills.• An examination of the relationships between three number skills (number fact recall, counting speed and place value understanding) and three cognitive abilities (non-verbal reasoning, auditory-verbal-sequential short-term memory and visual-spatial short-term memory) in normally developing children. • An examination of the cognitive and number skills profiles of children with specific arithmetic abilities (SAD). These children had poor arithmetic attainment, but much better reading attainment. The assessment of these children's cognitive and attainment profiles was comprehensive. The children's verbal, non-verbal and spatial abilities were assessed as well as their psychomotor, visual-spatial memory and auditory-verbal memory abilities. Particular attention was paid to the balance of verbal and spatial abilities in these children as previous research has indicated that children with specific arithmetic difficulties share a homogenous ability profile with poor spatial ability, but better verbal ability.• An examination of the number skills profiles of children and adults with dyslexia. A wealth of previous research has indicated that dyslexic individuals have working memory weaknesses (Hulme, 1981; Shankweiler, Liberman, Mark, Fowler & Fisher, 1979). Three number skills (number fact recall, counting speed and place value understanding) were assessed in dyslexic children, to determine whether a diagnosis of dyslexia was associated with a particular number skills profile. As children with dyslexia had a specific difficulty with number fact recall, the number fact recall of dyslexic adults was compared with non-dyslexic adults, to determine whether this difficulty persisted into adulthood.Structure of the thesisThe thesis is divided into nine chapters. Chapter 1 describes the aims of the thesis and gives an outline of its content. Chapter 2 describes and evaluates the two major models of normal adult numerical processing. Chapter 3 describes current knowledge about how children develop number skills; particular emphasis is placed on the interplay between conceptual understanding and procedural skills. Chapter 4 describes and evaluates previous research into the attainment, cognitive and psychosocial strengths and weaknesses of children with arithmetic difficulties. The limitations of the various research methodologies utilised in previous studies are examined. Chapter 5 provides an overview of how dyslexia is defined; current knowledge about the cognitive profiles of dyslexic individuals is also discussed. Research into the number skills of dyslexic children is described and evaluated. Chapter 6 describes and evaluates Study 1, which had three main aims: to produce norms for some new computerised tests of number skills; to examine how place value understanding, counting speed and number fact recall develop injunior age children; to examine the relationships between cognitive and number skills junior aged children. Chapter 7 reports the results of Studies 2 and 3. The aim of Study 2 was to examine the ability profiles of children with specific arithmetic abilities. The results indicated that children with large verbal/spatial ability discrepancies were over-represented in the group with specific arithmetic difficulties. The cognitive profiles of the children with specific arithmetic abilities were examined in Study 3. The children were divided into four groups: low general conceptual ability; non-verbal learning difficulty; low verbal reasoning; and specific memory weakness. An illustrative case study of a child in each group is provided. Chapter 8 describes and evaluates Study 4, in which the counting speed, number fact recall and place value understanding of children with SAD and children with dyslexia was compared to a randomly selected sample of children attending mainstream schools. The children with dyslexia showed weaknesses on the test of number fact recall and one test of counting speed, but they had unimpaired place value understanding. In contrast the children with specific arithmetic difficulties were impaired both on the tests of place value understanding and number fact recall. Chapter 9 describes and evaluates Study 5, in which the number fact recall of a group of dyslexic students was compared to a group of non-dyslexic students who were matched on intellectual ability. The adults with dyslexia were slower and less accurate at recalling number facts. Chapter 10 draws together the results of the five studies. The findings are discussed in reference to models of adult numerical processing and Rourke's non-verbal learning difficulty classification (Rourke & Del Dotto, 1994). A multiple-route model of arithmetic difficulties is proposed and methods that could be used to evaluate the model are described. Recommendations for the diagnostic assessment of children with arithmetic difficulties and for cognitively tailored teaching are made

    Applying science of learning in education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum

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    The field of specialization known as the science of learning is not, in fact, one field. Science of learning is a term that serves as an umbrella for many lines of research, theory, and application. A term with an even wider reach is Learning Sciences (Sawyer, 2006). The present book represents a sliver, albeit a substantial one, of the scholarship on the science of learning and its application in educational settings (Science of Instruction, Mayer 2011). Although much, but not all, of what is presented in this book is focused on learning in college and university settings, teachers of all academic levels may find the recommendations made by chapter authors of service. The overarching theme of this book is on the interplay between the science of learning, the science of instruction, and the science of assessment (Mayer, 2011). The science of learning is a systematic and empirical approach to understanding how people learn. More formally, Mayer (2011) defined the science of learning as the “scientific study of how people learn” (p. 3). The science of instruction (Mayer 2011), informed in part by the science of learning, is also on display throughout the book. Mayer defined the science of instruction as the “scientific study of how to help people learn” (p. 3). Finally, the assessment of student learning (e.g., learning, remembering, transferring knowledge) during and after instruction helps us determine the effectiveness of our instructional methods. Mayer defined the science of assessment as the “scientific study of how to determine what people know” (p.3). Most of the research and applications presented in this book are completed within a science of learning framework. Researchers first conducted research to understand how people learn in certain controlled contexts (i.e., in the laboratory) and then they, or others, began to consider how these understandings could be applied in educational settings. Work on the cognitive load theory of learning, which is discussed in depth in several chapters of this book (e.g., Chew; Lee and Kalyuga; Mayer; Renkl), provides an excellent example that documents how science of learning has led to valuable work on the science of instruction. Most of the work described in this book is based on theory and research in cognitive psychology. We might have selected other topics (and, thus, other authors) that have their research base in behavior analysis, computational modeling and computer science, neuroscience, etc. We made the selections we did because the work of our authors ties together nicely and seemed to us to have direct applicability in academic settings

    Helping children think: Gaze aversion and teaching

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    Looking away from an interlocutor's face during demanding cognitive activity can help adults answer challenging arithmetic and verbal-reasoning questions (Glenberg, Schroeder, & Robertson, 1998). However, such `gaze aversion' (GA) is poorly applied by 5-year-old school children (Doherty-Sneddon, Bruce, Bonner, Longbotham, & Doyle, 2002). In Experiment 1 we trained ten 5-year-old children to use GA while thinking about answers to questions. This trained group performed significantly better on challenging questions compared with 10 controls given no GA training. In Experiment 2 we found significant and monotonic age-related increments in spontaneous use of GA across three cohorts of ten 5-year-old school children (mean ages: 5;02, 5;06 and 5;08). Teaching and encouraging GA during challenging cognitive activity promises to be invaluable in promoting learning, particularly during early primary years

    Exploring Mathematics Anxiety of Students At-Risk for Mathematics Difficulties

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    Students in mathematics classrooms are found to experience various levels of stress and anxiety during instructional time. Negative feelings associated with participation in math activities can lead to both physical and emotional manifestations, affecting performance, achievement, and even confidence with the academic subject. Students found to be at-risk for mathematics difficulties have greater risks when it comes to the possible experience of mathematics anxiety. Students with learning disabilities, students needing supplemental interventions, and students who are English learners can experience potential bouts of anxiety and stress, magnifying academic struggles in the math classroom. In addition, academic deficits can intensify levels of anxiety because of a shortage of working memory capacity that many students that are at-risk are found to have. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of mathematics anxiety, mathematics achievement, and working memory capacity associated with students at- risk for mathematics difficulties. The understanding of the cognition process during math instruction, as well as the variables needed to develop effective mathematic interventions to support the decrease or onset of math anxiety were also investigated. This study further examined potential interconnections between math anxiety and age, inspecting the links between academic achievement and studying foundational math concepts. Participants were recruited from a Title I elementary school in a large urban environment located in the Southwestern United States. Through the implementation of math anxiety rating scales, math achievement scores, working memory measures, classroom observations, and student focus groups this research seeks to explore the existence of mathematics anxiety of students at-risk for mathematics difficulties. Results indicated that all participants identified as at-risk for mathematics difficulties experienced varying levels of math anxiety, with significant differences found across levels of working memory and English language proficiency. Students with learning disabilities reported the lowest levels of math anxiety while English learners reported the highest levels of math anxiety. Results also indicated that working memory is a predictor of math anxiety and a significant difference levels of math anxiety was found across both levels of working memory and English proficiency. Results of this study indicated may encourage future research to focus on interventions and support specifically for the prevention and reduction of mathematics anxiety for students at-risk for mathematics difficulties
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