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Based on the expectancy-value perspective on identity and identity formation, this paper explores the relationship between math identity (MI) and the dimensions of motivation (i.e. intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value and perceived competence) and math achievement in primary school. An additional aim of our research was to explore these relationships in different cultural contexts and investigate potential gender and grade differences concerning MI. The participants were 11,782 primary school students from Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, Portugal and Serbia. All predictors from the motivation spectrum were significant for students' MI across the examined countries and had a stronger association with MI than math achievement. Among the motivational dimensions, intrinsic value had the strongest association with students' MI. Boys had significantly more positive math identities than girls in Estonia, Finland, Norway and Portugal. The results showed that the grade 4 students perceived themselves less as "math persons" than their grade 3 peers in all countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kindergarteners' numerical abilities are fundamental to their future academic development. The cognitive correlates of numerical abilities remain in debate. The present study examined whether non-verbal number sense and literacy could persistently predict kindergarteners' numerical abilities. A large-scale sample consisting of 930 children aged from 5.0 to 6.9 years were assessed for numerical abilities (addition and subtraction), non-verbal number sense (numerosity comparison), literacy (character reading), and general cognitive processing (word span, rapid automatized naming, mental rotation, figure matching and rhythm). The results showed that, after controlling for all other aspects of cognitive processing available, non-verbal number sense did not correlate with numerical abilities, while literacy was a stable cognitive predictor of numerical abilities in both age groups. And rapid automatized naming (RAN) was the most powerful cognitive predictor in the 6 years of age group. Further dominance analysis also showed that literacy was the most important predictor of numerical performance in the 5 years of age group and was next only to RAN in the 6 years of age group. The results suggest that literacy rather than non-verbal number sense is a unique cognitive correlate for kindergartener's numerical abilities. We argue that increased focus on natural language, especially literacy, may help to improve kindergarteners' math ability. Highlights: A large-scale sample consisting of 930 Chinese children aged from 5.0 to 6.9 years were assessed for numerical abilities, non-verbal number sense, literacy, and general cognitive processing. The link between non-verbal number sense and children's numerical abilities did not survive after controlling for other cognitive processing. Literacy rather than non-verbal number sense is a stable cognitive correlate for kindergartener's numerical abilities in 5.0–6.9 years old kindergarteners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined whether sport participation in preschool was related to executive functioning (EF) and academic outcomes (i.e., math, language, literacy) in the fall and spring of kindergarten, as well as whether EF in the fall of kindergarten mediated the relation between sport participation in preschool and academic outcomes in the spring of kindergarten. The sample was drawn from a state-funded prekindergarten program evaluation (n = 120 children; mean age at baseline = 57.63 months, female = 47%, mean monthly family income = $1636.92). Parents reported on child sport participation in the spring of the child's preschool year. Children were directly assessed on EF and academic achievement in the fall and spring of kindergarten. Results revealed that sport participation in preschool only predicted literacy in the spring of kindergarten. There was no evidence that EF mediated the relation between sport participation and academic outcomes. Implications and future directions are discussed. Highlights: Preschool sport participation may predict specific academic skills in kindergarten. Executive functioning did not mediate the relation between sport and academic skills. Varied conceptualizations of sport may inform relations between sport and cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher innovative behavior is one of the vital factors, affecting student engagement, addresses diverse needs, promotes critical thinking, fosters lifelong learning, and contributes to educational research and development. By encouraging and supporting teacher innovation, we may can ensure that education remains relevant, effective, and impactful in preparing students for the future. Teacher innovative behavior is also needed to improve the mathematics skills of elementary school students, and it is important to determine the predictors that significantly affecting Teacher innovative behavior. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a model that predicted possible factors affecting mathematics teachers' innovative behavior based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). Data were collected from 132 elementary school teachers in China to verify the model, and the analysis was conducted using a structural equation modelling approach. Theoretically, 10 of the 15 hypotheses were found to be significant. The results showed that facilitating conditions and self-efficacy significantly affect mathematics teachers' innovative behavior. Meanwhile, Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) knowledge, Social Influences, Rewards, Work engagement and anxiety did not show any effect. The contribution developed a model and provided new knowledge about the factors affecting elementary school teachers' innovative behavior. Practically, this could be used to improve teachers' innovative behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Task-related change in physiological arousal is suggested to reflect active involvement with the task. While studies often examine such task-related changes in arousal as averaged across the entire task, the present study focused on temporal changes in arousal during a task. More specifically, we investigated changes in elementary school students' physiological arousal during an arithmetic task and associations between these changes and students' mindset, performance on the task, and math grades. We used a person-oriented approach to analyze the tonic electrodermal activity of 86 fourth graders, recorded while they were working on an arithmetic task. With model-based clustering of students' on-task electrodermal activity, we identified three groups of students with differing temporal dynamics of physiological arousal during the task: Increasing Arousal, Decreasing Arousal and Decreasing and Increasing Arousal. The Decreasing Arousal profile contained more students classified as holding a Fixed Mindset Tendency than would be expected if physiological profile membership and mindset tendency were independent. The Increasing Arousal profile performed better on the task than the Decreasing Arousal profile. No association was found with math grades. These results provide a new insight into individual differences in temporal patterns of on-task physiological arousal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses an example of an educational project in modern mathematics in which school students create mathematics that is new to them. The mathematical results produced by the students in the theory of definability also have an "absolute" novelty, i.e., are the basis for professional publications. The described course was based on recent results of this article's authors in the theory of definability. The new results were obtained by a group of 10 schoolchildren from different regions of Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The relation between the human body movements and cognition has been a research hotspot in physical education and health promotion in recent years. This study applied the embodied cognition theory to examine the effects of the Movement Integrity with Intelligent Play (MIIP) program on preschoolers' math performance. Objective: This study explores whether the Movement Integrity with Intelligent Play is connected with math performance, physical activity (PA) levels, and enjoyment of kindergarten students. Method: A quasi-experimental trial was delivered to evaluate the effects of the MIIP program that integrated bodily movements into math cognitive tasks related to pattern cognitive skills. A total of 54 (N = 54, 30 girls, Mage = 75.69 ± 3.36) children from two preschool classrooms served as participants and were assigned to one of the following two conditions: the integrated condition group (ICG, n = 28), and the conventional condition group (CCG, n = 26). During a 2-week intervention period, the ICG received a task-relevant PA (3×30 min/wk) in addition to their regular in-school math lessons (2×30 min/wk). Finally, math performance, PA levels, and enjoyment were assessed. Results: Following the intervention, significant differences (p < 0.05) in math performance, PA levels, and enjoyment were found in the ICG. The results demonstrated that preschool children in ICG outperformed children in the CCG. Children in the CCG showed no significant differences in math performance and PA levels. In addition, children in the ICG scored higher scores (M = 9.25 ± 2.71) on perceived enjoyment of the instructional method than children in the CCG (M = 7.07 ± 3.91). Conclusions: The integrated intervention has beneficial effects not only on math performance, PA levels but also on enjoyment. Transforming the focus of instruction to an integrated PA enhanced both math performance, PA levels, and increased enjoyment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining adequate numeracy skills and listening comprehension skills at primary school are vital for children's future success. However, classrooms are often noisy and reverberant which may interfere with learning these skills. Two scoping reviews were conducted to synthesise research assessing the effect of different classroom acoustic conditions on (1) children's numeracy performance and (2) children's listening comprehension and to identify areas for future research. The PRISMA-ScR protocol was used for these scoping reviews. A comprehensive search of four online databases was conducted in September 2021 using the search term classroom AND (noise OR reverberation OR acoustics) AND (numeracy OR math* OR arithmetic) for the first scoping review, and in May 2022 using the search term classroom AND (acoustic* OR noise OR reverb*) AND ("listening comprehension" OR "auditory comprehension" OR "spoken language comprehension" OR "speech comprehension") for the second scoping review. The effect of the acoustic conditions on children's numeracy was varied with most studies showing a negative or no effect of noise, but two showed a positive effect. Therefore, future research is needed to better understand the effect of different classroom acoustic conditions on children's numeracy performance. For listening comprehension overall, signal-to-noise ratios below + 10 dB mostly had a negative effect on children's listening comprehension compared to quiet conditions; however, variables such as the noise type, signal-to-noise ratio tested, the listening comprehension domain examined, the population studied, and the voice used for the stimuli affected this. Future research avenues to better understand these effects are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate third-grade reading and math proficiency for children born to adolescent women compared with those born to non-adolescent women. Methods: A statewide, retrospective cohort study was conducted in Rhode Island using third-grade year-end examination data from 2014 to 2017 as part of a statewide initiative to improve third grade reading levels. Children's third-grade reading and math proficiencies were compared between those born to nulliparous adolescent women (age 15–19 at the time of delivery), and nulliparous women 20 years or older at delivery. Bivariate analyses were conducted to compare maternal and child characteristics between adolescent and non-adolescent groups. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association between having an adolescent mother and being proficient in reading and math after adjusting for lunch subsidy, core city residence, child race/ethnicity and sex. Results: Of the 8,248 children meeting the inclusion criteria, 20% were born to adolescent women and the remaining 80% were born to non-adolescent women. After adjusting for potential confounders, children born to adolescent women were significantly less likely to be proficient in both reading (adjusted risk ratio (aRR) 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.71–0.83) and math (aRR 0.78, 95% CI: 0.72–0.85). Conclusions for Practice: Children born to adolescent women had significantly lower rates of reading and math proficiency when compared with children of non-adolescent women. These children may benefit from additional resources focused on early academic performance in order to address disparities in reading and math proficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used a multiple probe design to evaluate the effects of a teacher-implemented video-schedule intervention on the mathematical skills and untargeted challenging behaviors of five elementary-school students with autism. Results indicated that the intervention was effective in improving participants' academic performance, and a decrease in the level of challenging behaviors and stereotypy was observed for participants following the introduction of intervention. Additionally, academic gains generalized across academic problems and to a small group setting, suggesting that this technology-based intervention is an efficient use of instructional time. Future research targeting a variety of academic skills and examining intervention implementation by additional practitioners (e.g., teaching assistants) is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning maths is challenging for many primary school students, and teachers must understand students' learning and emotional processes specific to learning maths. The current research, grounded in control-value theory, focused on achievement emotions regarding maths. Primary school students (N = 71) were studied with the primary objective of examining the longitudinal trajectories of achievement emotions of third graders over two years. The Portuguese Achievement Emotions Questionnaire for Elementary Students was administered biannually to assess enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom regarding maths. The results indicate that enjoyment decreased and boredom increased over time, revealing three emotional profiles: positive, negative and moderate. The positive profile showed the highest scores in maths achievement. Profile membership was moderately stable and became increasingly stable and structured. In examining the complexity of students' emotional profiles and processes, the importance of understanding them to enhance educational support, development, and learning was highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored whether Year 1 school children exposed to a 12-week classroom-based gross motor program progressed differently than Year 1 children undertaking their regular school program in motor proficiency, mathematics, and reading outcomes. Fifty-five Australian Year 1 school children (25 boys, 30 girls, mean age 6.77 ± 0.40 years) were exposed to either (i) their normal school program (Class N) or (ii) a 12-week program comprised of gross motor circuits and physically active: a) reading lessons (Class R) or b) mathematics lessons (Class M). Motor proficiency and academic performance in mathematics and reading were assessed using the Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (2nd Edition) and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test—2nd Edition—Australian Standardised Edition, respectively. Differences in outcomes between classes following the 12-week program were assessed. Mean change scores for the mathematics composite were significantly greater for participants in Class R (9.61 ± 5.62, p =.001) and Class M (7.57 ± 5.79, p =.019) than for participants in Class N (0.76 ± 8.00). Mean change scores for reading (11.54 ± 7.51, p =.017) and total motor composites (6.12 ± 5.07, p =.034) were also significantly greater for participants in Class M than Class N (4.47 ± 3.50 and 0.82 ± 4.38 respectively). A 12-week classroom-based gross motor program may be beneficial for motor skill development and learning in Year 1 school children. This pilot evaluation may usefully inform future experimental studies to further investigate whether classroom-based motor skill programs have a beneficial effect on motor proficiency and academic outcomes in children in the early years of primary school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, motivated by the desire to understand which forms of parent-initiated activity are productively implicated in young children's mathematics learning, we present a methodological critique of recent research. Many such studies, based on assumptions that parent-initiated activities can be categorised as formal or informal, direct or indirect, or advanced or basic, exploit surveys to elicit how frequently parents engage their children in various predetermined activities. While such survey data have the potential to yield important insights, the analytical procedures typically employed prevent them. Studies involving factor analyses yield uninterpretable factors, which are then used to create summative variables based on the scores of individual activities. Other studies, drawing on untested preconceptions, simply create summative variables. In all cases, these summative variables are based on such a wide range of qualitatively different activities that labels like formal or informal become arbitrary and the potential of individual activities to support learning gets lost beneath colleagues' desires for statistical significance. In closing, we ask colleagues, albeit somewhat rhetorically, what is the purpose of such research? Is it to identify those activities that support learning or to offer statistically robust factors, which, due to the diversity of activities embedded within them, offer few useful insights? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prekindergarten programs are instrumental for smooth transition to the primary grades. Although the prevalence of these programs has expanded, limited studies document the long-term outcomes associated with children's engagement in such programs and for specific content areas such as mathematics. Objective: This study predicted the longitudinal mathematics achievement of 458 students as they progressed through elementary and middle school, accounting for their participation in Georgia's prekindergarten (Pre-K) program at age 4. Method: Archived academic achievement data in mathematics were extracted from one school district in the southeastern United States. A multilevel approach was employed to account for the nesting of students within schools. Liner and logistic regression analyses were used to examine the long-term relationship between prekindergarten participation and mathematics achievement. Results: After controlling for the effects of race, sex, and poverty, results indicated that participation in Georgia's Pre-K program positively predicted mathematics achievement through seventh grade. For fourth through seventh grades, the odds of a Georgia Pre-K participant meeting the state's academic standards on the statewide standardized test were 1.67–2.10 times greater than the odds for a nonparticipant. Conclusion: Although the reported effect sizes were small, children's participation in the Georgia Pre-K program had a long-term influence on their mathematics achievement through elementary and middle school, providing evidence of sustained benefits of a state-funded prekindergarten program. Quality learning experiences during the early years might provide skills and knowledge that serve as building blocks for later mathematics achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a teaching experiment in which second-grade primary school students compared a city and a town according to population estimates. The activities were presented to them as Fermi problems and required an analysis of the reality to identify sub-problems that students could deal with. The students' products were analyzed from the perspective of mathematical modeling and it was observed that the students developed their own mathematical methods to make the required estimates. Learning opportunities were identified when students needed concepts and procedures that they had not yet worked with. The results show that estimation acts as a facilitator for the generation of mathematical models that enable students to connect their real-world knowledge to new mathematical learning. In the conclusions, there is a discussion of the implications of the use of Fermi problem sequences to initiate mathematical modeling and link up mathematical and extra-mathematical knowledge about social problems in the first years of primary education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLP) model, high individual academic performance in a particular subject is related to high self-concept in that subject, whereas high average classroom performance has a negative effect on self-concept. In the present study, data from Finnish primary school students in grade 3 (504 students), grade 4 (487 students), and grade 6 (365 students) are used to examine whether the assumptions of the BFLP effect model hold already in primary school. Furthermore, we examined gender differences in BFLP effect. The results showed that as expected students' high performance in literacy and in mathematics was related to high self-concept in the same subject. Support for the negative classroom effect was small and it depended on the school subject and student's gender. That is, a high average classroom performance already in grade 3 had a negative but small effect on boys' self-concept in mathematics. In literacy and among girls, only little support was found for the negative classroom effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes elementary students' awareness and representation of the aggregate properties and variability of data sets when engaged in predictive reasoning. In a design study, 46 third-graders interpreted a table of historical temperature data to predict and represent future monthly maximum temperatures. The task enabled students to interpret numbers in context and apply their understanding of inherent natural variation to create a generalised data set. Student predictions, representations, and written and verbal descriptions were analysed using two frameworks—Awareness of Mathematical Pattern and Structure (AMPS), and Data Lenses. While 54% of students used the variability of the given data table to predict temperatures that were within the historical range for each month, only 20% described the table by focusing on aggregate properties. Student representations varied from highly structured line and bar graphs to idiosyncratic drawings on weather-related themes. In total, 83% of student representations were either idiosyncratic or direct copies of the data table. These findings suggest a progression in students' predictive reasoning, with an awareness of range and seasonal patterns emerging before a multifaceted aggregate view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education is an emerging approach to improve students’ achievement and interest in STEM disciplines. However, the implementation of integrated STEM education depends strongly on teachers’ competence, which entails, among others, teachers’ attitudes. Nonetheless, not much is known about the factors that influence teachers’ attitudes toward teaching integrated STEM. Therefore this paper uses a survey method to get insight into the relationship between three groups of variables and teachers’ attitudes toward teaching integrated STEM: teacher background characteristics, personal attitudes and school context variables. The results of the multiple regression analyses reveal three variables that are positively linked with teachers’ attitudes: professional development, personal relevance of science and social context. Moreover two variables show a negative correlation: having more than 20 years of teaching experience and experience in mathematics. The results of this study provide valuable information about factors related to teachers’ attitudes toward teaching integrated STEM. Moreover, these results can be deployed by school administrators to guide them when implementing integrated STEM education in their school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess the differences in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) according to academic performance (AP) in children who attend public schools in the city of Cordoba, Argentina.Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out in a sample of 494 children aged 9-12 years (mean = 9.5; standard deviation [SD] = 0.65; IQR 1) who attended 4th grade of public schools in the city of Córdoba, Argentina in 2014. HRQoL was assessed by self-administration of the KIDSCREEN-52 child version in classroom. AP was established with the final grades in language and mathematics obtained from the school records. Marginal means and SD's of the HRQoL scores were compared between AP groups by calculating the effect size (ES), and linear mixed effect models were used to evaluate the (independent) association of AP with HRQoL.Results: Statistically significant differences were found in the psychosocial dimensions of the HRQoL between the AP groups. The main differences in HRQoL between children with very good-excellent grades and those with unsatisfactory AP were found in school environment (ES = 0.69), parent relation and home life (ES = 0.61), autonomy (ES = 0.61), self-perception (ES = 0.49), and social acceptance (ES = 0.48). Children with very good-excellent grades scored better in all of these dimensions.Conclusions: Children with very good-excellent grades in language and mathematics scored better in the psychosocial domains of HRQoL. AP is an important factor in the analysis of the social and psychological aspects of children's health. Further research is required to explore more deeply the direction and characteristics of this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of proof has attracted considerable research attention over the pastdecades in part due to its indisputable importance to the discipline of mathematics and tostudents' learning of mathematics. Yet, the teaching and learning of proof is an instructionallyarduous territory, with proof being recognized as a hard-to-teach and hard-to-learn concept atall levels of education. Prior research has examined, documented, and cast light on theprocesses underpinning different problems of classroom practice in the area of proof, buthas paid less emphasis on acting upon such problems to generate possible solutions throughresearch-based interventions in mathematics classrooms. In this Editorial, we first situate thecontributions in this Special Issue in a brief chronological account of scholarly work on research-based interventions in the area of proof, and we conclude with a proposal for somehigh-leverage directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Poor diet quality may impair academic achievement in children, but such evidence is limited. Therefore, we investigated the associations of healthy diet in Grade 1 assessed by Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), Baltic Sea Diet Score (BSDS), and Finnish Children Healthy Eating Index (FCHEI) with academic achievement in Grades 1-3 in children. Methods: The participants were 161 Finnish children who were 6-8 years old in Grade 1 and attended in a large ongoing physical activity and dietary intervention study. Dietary factors were assessed using 4-day food records, and MDS, BSDS, and FCHEI were calculated. Academic achievement was assessed by reading fluency, reading comprehension, and arithmetic skill tests. The data were analyzed using linear regression analysis and analysis of covariance adjusted for age, sex, parental education, household income, body fat percentage, physical activity, the PANIC Study group, and total energy intake. Results: MDS was positively associated with reading comprehension in Grade 3 (standardized regression coefficient β = 0.167, P = 0.032). BSDS was positively associated with reading fluency in Grades 2-3 and reading comprehension in Grades 1-3 ( β = 0.161-0.274, P < 0.05). FCHEI was positively related to reading fluency in Grades 1-2 and reading comprehension in Grades 1-3 ( β = 0.190-0.344, P < 0.05). Children in the highest third of BSDS and FCHEI had better reading fluency and reading comprehension in Grades 1-3 than children in the lowest third ( P < 0.05). None of the diet scores was associated with arithmetic skills. Conclusions: Healthier diet assessed by BSDS or FCHEI in Grade 1 was associated with better reading skills, but not with arithmetic skills, among children in Grades 1-3. Long-term intervention studies are needed to investigate the effects of improvements in diet quality on academic achievement among children. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01803776. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore the beliefs of elementary school students about mathematics and about themselves as mathematics learners. The participants, Israeli grade 4 and grade 6 students, completed questionnaires. Using an 'animal metaphor' to tap beliefs, some students perceived mathematics as difficult and complicated, while for others, mathematics was connected to wisdom. The data from other questionnaire items indicated that students at both grade levels generally did not enjoy learning mathematics, but believed it was very important to study this subject. They also believed that they were good at mathematics, but the grade 6 students' self-perceptions of achievement were lower than those of the grade 4 students. Compared to the boys, the girls in both grades 4 and 6 expressed lower perceptions of their mathematics achievement levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are known to exhibit significantly lower academic and social functioning than other children. Yet the field currently lacks knowledge about specific impairment trajectories experienced by children with ADHD, which may constrain early screening and intervention effectiveness. Data were analyzed from a nationally representative U.S. cohort in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K) for 590 children (72.7 % male) whose parents reported a formal diagnosis of ADHD. Children's math, reading, and interpersonal skills were assessed at 5 time points between kindergarten and fifth grade. Growth mixture model analyses indicated 4 latent trajectory classes for reading, 8 classes for math, and 4 classes for interpersonal skills. Membership in reading and math trajectory classes was strongly related; overlaps with interpersonal skills classes were weaker. Trajectory class membership was correlated with demographic characteristics and behavioral functioning. Children with ADHD display substantial heterogeneity in their reading, math, and interpersonal growth trajectories, with some groups of children especially likely to display relatively severe levels of academic and social impairment over time. Early screening and intervention to address impairment, particularly reading difficulties, among kindergarten students with ADHD is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important goal in mathematics is to flexibly use and apply multiple, efficient procedures to solve problems and to understand why these procedures work. One factor that may limit individuals' ability to notice and flexibly apply strategies is the mental set induced by the problem context. Undergraduate ( N = 41, Experiment 1) and fifth- and sixth-grade students ( N = 87, Experiment 2) solved mathematical equivalence problems in one of two set-inducing conditions. Participants in the complex-first condition solved problems without a repeated addend on both sides of the equal sign (e.g., 7 + 5 + 9 = 3 + _), which required multistep strategies. Then these students solved problems with a repeated addend (e.g., 7 + 5 + 9 = 7 + _), for which a shortcut strategy could be readily used (i.e., adding 5 + 9). Participants in the shortcut-first condition solved the same problem set but began with the shortcut problems. Consistent with laboratory studies of mental set, participants in the complex-first condition were less likely to use the more efficient shortcut strategy when possible. In addition, these participants were less likely to demonstrate procedural flexibility and conceptual understanding on a subsequent assessment of mathematical equivalence knowledge. These findings suggest that certain problem-solving contexts can help or hinder both flexibility in strategy use and deeper conceptual thinking about the problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a video modeling intervention with concrete-representational-abstract instructional sequence in teaching mathematics concepts to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A multiple baseline across skills design of single-case experimental methodology was used to determine the effectiveness of the intervention on the acquisition and maintenance of addition, subtraction, and number comparison skills for four elementary school students with ASD. Findings supported the effectiveness of the intervention in improving skill acquisition and maintenance at a 3-week follow-up. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the recommendations from the American Psychological Association's (APA, ) task force on the sexualization, no known research has shown the effects of sexualized advertisements on children's cognitive abilities. The present experiments address this question with a sample of 8-10 year-olds. Primary school children were exposed to advertisements that portrayed sexualized vs. non-sexualized children and then were asked to complete a math test (Study 1 and Study 2) preceded by a working memory test (Study 2). As predicted, exposure to sexualized images of girls hampered girls', but not boys', math performance (Study 1, N = 79). Findings from Study 2 ( N = 102) replicated Study 1's results for girls and demonstrated that sexualized ads of boys disrupted boys' math performance as well, thus indicating that same-gender sexualized images are disruptive for both girls' and boys' cognitive performance. Moreover, the detrimental effect of same-gender sexualized images on both girls' and boys' math performance was mediated by a reduction in working memory resources. These findings clearly demonstrate the damaging effects of sexualized advertisements on children's cognitive performance and suggest the urgency of implementing interventions aimed at combating sexualization in early childhood, which transmits the cultural message that having a sexy (young or adult) body is extremely important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Attribute' and 'measurement' are two fundamental concepts in mathematics and physics. Teaching these concepts is essential even in elementary school, but numerous studies have pointed out pupils' difficulties with them. These studies emphasized that pupils must learn about attributes before being taught how to measure these attributes, which can be done through activities involving comparing and sorting. In France, as in numerous English-speaking countries, official teaching instructions for the elementary-school years (Grades 1 to 5) recommend this approach. We consider that to be able to teach attributes, teachers themselves must master and differentiate the concepts of attribute and measurement. Indeed, these concepts are part of any teacher's subject matter knowledge, especially of what Ball called 'specialized content knowledge', which is needed to effectively teach both attributes and measurement. In this study, we analyze the level of mastery of these concepts among French teacher trainees. Our findings suggest that future teachers do not clearly differentiate these concepts, and that the concept of attribute is the less well understood. We highlight that an erroneous understanding of attribute is extremely prevalent: almost half of our participants think of attribute as a vague, imprecise notion. Finally, we discuss the possible causes of this misconception and its implications for teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research investigating structured, comprehensive numeracy curricula appropriate for children with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) is limited. We conducted a pilot study focused on an adaptation of the Maths Recovery program. Twenty four elementary school children with severe ID or autism were randomly allocated into the intervention and control groups. For 12 weeks, children in the intervention group received individualized numeracy teaching based on the adapted Maths Recovery curriculum, whereas children in the control group received 'mathematics as usual' teaching. Pre- and post- intervention tests on standardized numeracy measures were conducted. Children were successfully recruited into the study, parents were willing for their child to be randomised to one of the arms of the study, and the vast majority of children were retained to follow-up. Analysis of data from outcome measures indicated that the Maths Recovery group made improvements at post-intervention in comparison to the control group. A follow-up test showed that gains were maintained 7 months after the end of the intervention. These pilot results support the case for a definitive research trial of the adapted Maths Recovery intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several studies have focused on the assessment of students' motivation because this construct is very important to understand students' learning and how to enhance it. The Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-A), based on the self-determination theory is a self-report instrument developed to access the reasons why students do their school work. However, there is no Portuguese version of this questionnaire for late elementary students. The primary goal of this research was to analyze the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of SRQ-A in the domain of Mathematics with elementary school children. Methods: Participants were 341 elementary school children ranging from 8 to 11 years old from the third and fourth grades. The Portuguese version of the SRQ-A included 24 items assessing four regulatory styles (external, introjected, identified, and intrinsic) in three behavioral categories (homework, classwork, and answering questions in mathematics lessons). To examine the psychometric properties of the instrument, we conducted an exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), measured gender and grade invariance, and calculated internal consistency indexes and temporal stability. Results: ESEM analyses supported the original multidimensional structure of the measure with four regulatory styles using a reduced version of the instrument with 16 items. Correlations between the four regulatory styles revealed a simplex pattern consistent with the continuum of self-determination theory. Results showed adequate internal consistency for all regulatory styles (α ≥.73; CR ≥.76) and temporal stability (4-month test-retest ≥.43). The questionnaire showed measurement and structural invariance across gender and grade. Finally, some gender differences were observed; on average, boys scored higher than girls in external regulation. No differences were observed between grades. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the Portuguese version of the SRQ-A has good psychometric properties providing adequate support for its use in educational research on motivational styles, including studies concerning gender and grade differences in self-regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]