Research Byte: Lets hear it (again) for #visual-spatial (#Gv) #workingmemory (#Gwm) and math #reasoning (#Gf-RQ) — #CHC #SPED #EDPSY #schoolpsychology #schoolpsychologist #WJV

From Spatial Construction to Mathematics: Exploring the Mediating Role of Visuospatial Working Memory.  Developmental Psychology.  An open access article that can be downloaded—Click here.

Yuxin Zhang, Rebecca Bull, and Emma C. Burns.

Abstract

This study examined the longitudinal pathways from early spatial skills at 5 and 7 years to their mathematics reasoning abilities at 17 years in a large cohort sample (N = 16,338) from the Millennium Cohort Study. Children were assessed at four time points: Sweep 3 (Mage = 5.29), Sweep 4 (Mage = 7.23), Sweep 5 (Mage = 11.17), and Sweep 7 (Mage = 17.18), with measures including spatial construction skills, visuospatial working memory, mathematics achievement, and mathematics reasoning skills. Path analyses revealed that spatial construction at age 5 directly predicted mathematics achievement at age 7 after accounting for sex, age, socioeconomic status, vocabulary, and nonverbal reasoning ability. Furthermore, spatial construction at 5 and 7 years was directly associated with mathematics reasoning skills at 17, and spatial working memory at age 11 partially mediated this relationship. Notably, the direct effects of spatial construction on mathematics reasoning at age 17 remained significant and robust after accounting for the mediator and covariates. These findings highlight the potential value of early spatial construction skills as predictors of subsequent mathematical development over the long term.

Public Significance Statement.Children with stronger spatial skills at age 5 are more likely to achieve higher scores in mathematics at ages 7 and 17. Visuospatial working memory partly explained this link, and early spatial skills showed a direct and robust association with later mathematics. This study identified early spatial skills as an important long-term predictor of mathematics from preschool through adolescence. The findings highlight the potential of infusing spatial thinking and using spatial strategies to better understand and solve mathematics problems.

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Comment:  I recently made a post regarding research that demonstrated the importance of visual-spatial working memory abilities for spatial navigation where I also mentioned the new (not yet online as far as I know) WJ V Visual Working Memory test, which was decades in development—an interesting test development “back story”.  

Research Byte: Development of #Arithmetic Across the #Lifespan: A Registered Report. - #Gq #CHC #Gwm #EF #Gs #schoolpsychology #SPED #SLD

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Development of Arithmetic Across the Lifespan: A Registered Report.  

Open access paper available at Developmental Psychology journal.  Click here to access

Abstract

 

Arithmetic skills are needed at any age. In everyday life, children to older adults calculate and deal with numbers. The processes underlying arithmetic seem to change with age. From childhood to younger adulthood, children get better in domain-specific numerical skills such as place-value processing. From younger to older adulthood, domain-general cognitive skills such as working memory decline. These skills are needed for complex arithmetic such as addition with carrying and subtraction with borrowing. This study investigates how the domain-specific (number magnitude, place-value processing) and domain-general (working memory, processing speed, inhibition) processes of arithmetic change across the lifespan. Thereby, arithmetic effects (carry and borrow effects), numerical effects (distance and compatibility effects), and cognitive skills were assessed in children, younger and older adolescents, and younger, middle-aged and older adults. The results showed that numerical and arithmetic skills improve from childhood to young adulthood and remain relatively stable throughout adulthood, even though domain-general pro-cesses, particularly working memory and processing speed, decline with age. While number magnitude and place-value processing both develop until adulthood, number magnitude processing shows deficits during aging, whereas place-value processing remains intact even in old age. The carry effect shifts from a categorical all-or-none decision (whether or not a carry operation is needed) to a more continuous magnitude process in adulthood, reflecting increasing reliance on domain-specific skills. In contrast, the borrow effect remains largely categorical across all age groups, depending on general cognitive processes. These results provide critical insights into how arithmetic skills change over the lifespan, relying on both domain-specific and domain-general processes.

Public Significance Statement 

Numerical and arithmetic skills improve significantly during school and are mostly preserved throughout adulthood—despite a decline in cognitive skills such as working memory and processing speed during aging. When facing complex arithmetic, all—from children up to older adults—need longer to calculate, but lifelong experience helps in dealing with arithmetic complexity. Throughout the lifespan, arithmetic requires both cognitive skills as well as numeric skills.

Research Byte: #Cognitive Factors Underlying #Mathematical Skills: A Systematic Review and #MetaAnalysis - relevant for #schoolpsychology

Cognitive Factors Underlying Mathematical Skills: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.  

Amland, T., Grande, G., Scherer, R., Lervåg, A., & Melby-Lervåg, M. (2024). Cognitive factors underlying mathematical skills: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychological Bulletin.Advance online publication. 

(click to download and read—open access)

Abstract

In understanding the nature of mathematical skills, the most influential theories suggest that mathematical cognition draws on different systems: numerical, linguistic, spatial, and general cognitive skills. Studies show that skills in these areas are highly predictive of outcomes in mathematics. Nonetheless, the strength of these relations with mathematical achievement varies, and little is known about the moderators or relative importance of each predictor. Based on 269 concurrent and 174 longitudinal studies comprising 2,696 correlations, this meta-analysis summarizes the evidence on cognitive predictors of mathematical skills in children and adolescents. The results showed that nonsymbolic number skills (often labeled approximate number sense) correlate significantly less with mathematical achievement than symbolic number skills and that various aspects of language relate differently to mathematical outcomes. We observed differential predictive patterns for arithmetic and word problems, and these patterns only partly supported the theory of three pathways—quantitative, linguistic, and spatial—for mathematical skills. Concurrently, nonsymbolic number and phonological skills were weak but exclusive predictors of arithmetic skills, whereas nonverbal intelligence quotient (IQ) predicted word problems only. Only symbolic number skills predicted both arithmetic and word problems concurrently. Longitudinally, symbolic number skills, spatial ability, and nonverbal IQ predicted both arithmetic and word problems, whereas language comprehension was important for word problem solving only. As in the concurrent data, nonsymbolic number skill was a weak longitudinal predictor of arithmetic skills. We conclude that the candidates to target in intervention studies are symbolic number skills and language comprehension. It is uncertain whether the two other important predictors, nonverbal IQ and spatial skills, are actually malleable.

Public Significance Statement 

This systematic review and meta-analysis found that symbolic number skills, language comprehension, and nonverbal reasoning skills are the most important foundational skills of achievement in mathematics in childhood and early adolescence. Children's understanding of digits and number words seems to be the most promising target to design content that can be tested in future intervention studies. Moreover, whether interventions targeting language comprehension could benefit children struggling with mathematical word problems should be further examined. Mathematical skills is a fundamental factor both for a productive society and for individual development and employment and finding ways that might increase mathematical abilities can potentially have great consequences.

Keywords: mathematics achievement, language, spatial ability, number sense, meta-analytic structural equation modeling

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The relations between executive functions, numerosity and later math achievement

Numerosity (aka number sense) has been a very hot and intriguing area of research this past decade. Yet another interesting study, this time demonstrating the role of executive functions...which are repeatedly found to be important for math cognition and achievement.

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Research byte: Simple addition problem solving may be autmoatic counting procedures and not quick retrieval from long-term memory

File under Gq, Glr, and Gr as per CHC model

 Fast automated counting procedures in addition problem solving: When are they used and why are they mistaken for retrieval? ^☆

• Kim Uittenhove,
• Catherine Thevenot,
• Pierre Barrouillet^,

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doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2015.10.008

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Highlights

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It is universally assumed that the answer of small additions is retrieved from memory.

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Contrariwise, we replicate that they are solved by automated compacted procedures.

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Moreover, we show here that these procedures are limited to operands up to 4.

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Counterintuitively, RTs suggest that retrieval could be used for larger additions.

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Compacted procedures are faster than retrieval and consequently mistaken for it.

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Abstract

Contrary to a widespread assumption, a recent study suggested that adults do not solve very small additions by directly retrieving their answer from memory, but rely instead on highly automated and fast counting procedures (Barrouillet & Thevenot, 2013). The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that these automated compiled procedures are restricted to small quantities that do not exceed the size of the focus of attention (i.e., 4 elements). For this purpose, we analyzed the response times of ninety adult participants when solving the 81 additions with operands from 1 to 9. Even when focusing on small problems (i.e. with sums ⩽10) reported by participants as being solved by direct retrieval, chronometric analyses revealed a strong size effect. Response times increased linearly with the magnitude of the operands testifying for the involvement of a sequential multistep procedure. However, this size effect was restricted to the problems involving operands from 1 to 4, whereas the pattern of response times for other small problems was compatible with a retrieval hypothesis. These findings suggest that very fast responses routinely interpreted as reflecting direct retrieval of the answer from memory actually subsume compiled automated procedures that are faster than retrieval and deliver their answer while the subject remains unaware of their process, mistaking them for direct retrieval from long-term memory.