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The application of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education in solving real-world problems is challenging. To tackle this challenge, a project-based learning approach that integrates robots with cost-effective self-made toys to problem-solving was adopted to assist rural primary school students to apply STEM skills. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the project-based learning approach which includes lecturing and hands-on activities on primary school students' STEM learning outcomes and attitudes. An experiment was conducted with 25 primary school students who voluntarily participated in a STEM summer-camp programme. Students were asked to assemble a paper house equipped with an IoT control module and LED light switches, and write and edit robot scripts to produce a robot-based storytelling narrative using the paper house they made as a context. The results show that the project-based learning approach was an effective approach for cultivating primary school students' STEM knowledge and skills as evidenced from the post-written test. The relationships between the students' STEM learning outcomes and attitudes were also confirmed by a clustering analysis. Students who had higher learning attitudes also achieved higher STEM learning outcomes; the findings are also supported by the feedback from the open-ended questionnaire items. This study suggests that integrating low-cost self-made toys and robots in project-based learning activities is an effective and practical approach to enhance primary school students' learning outcomes and learning attitudes in STEM education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

This study extends prior research by manipulating both intervention and skill difficulty using a multiple baseline across participants design with changing phases in a virtual tutoring environment. Participants were four U.S. students from third and fifth grades for whom appropriate and challenging instructional targets were selected following diagnostic assessment using curriculum-based measurement. Instructional strategies were selected to align or misalign with those instructional targets. The multiple baseline design was used to determine the functional relationship between the instructional strategies (acquisition or fluency-building) with appropriate and challenging skills. Results suggested that indicated intervention strategies aligned with students' skill proficiency resulted in improvements but that contraindicated intervention strategies that were misaligned with students' skill proficiency did not. Furthermore, most students rated the contraindicated intervention strategies as less acceptable or reported higher levels of math anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this convergent mixed methods design study, single-subject and qualitative data were collected concurrently to provide an in-depth picture of the impact of a modified schema-based instructional intervention. The intervention was delivered using instructional trials embedded across general education math lessons and a modified concrete-semi-concrete-abstract instructional sequence. This study investigated the impact of the intervention on the word-problem-solving, strategy use, and concept acquisition of three students with extensive support needs. The paraprofessional-delivered intervention was implemented in elementary general education mathematics classrooms using embedded instruction and focused on teaching students to solve addition and subtraction word-problems. Single-subject data indicated that all three students learned to solve word-problems given concrete materials but needed more time to master the use of semi concrete supports. Qualitative data indicated that students used taught and untaught strategies to solve word-problems, and mastered addition word-problems before subtraction when they were taught simultaneously. Data were integrated in narrative format to explore how strategy use and concept acquisition related to student word-problem-solving performance. Limitations and implications for research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Even though monitoring and control enactment are key aspects of self‐regulated learning (SRL), Adaptive learning technologies (ALTs) may reduce the need for learners to monitor and control their learning. Personalized dashboards are effective in supporting learners' monitoring and can potentially support control behaviour. Allowing learners to enact control over their learning process, seems to hold potential for increasing their motivation. Objectives: Therefore, this study's aim was to investigate the relation between control enactment and motivation. We examined how learners enacted control while learning with an ALT with personalized dashboards and examined the relation between learners' enactment of control and their motivation. Methods: Seventy‐eight primary school learners (Grade 5) participated. During the lesson, learners worked on mathematics in the ALT and concurrently were shown personalized visualizations that supported monitoring and enacting control over their learning process. Learners could enact control to change problems' difficulty to easy, medium, or hard. Motivation was measured before and after learning. Results: The SEM analyses showed that how learners enacted control was related to their motivation. Choosing difficult problems was related to more enjoyment and competence while choosing easy problems related to more pressure and tension. Learners who complied with the suggested difficulty level experienced less choice, but also less pressure/tension and more enjoyment and competence. Conclusions: These results provide avenues to account for broader learner characteristics like SRL and motivation to optimize learning. This way, hybrid systems in which control enactment is a shared responsibility of the system and learner, can be improved to support SRL development. Lay Description: What is currently known: Monitor and control enactment are key aspects of self‐regulated learning (SRL).Adaptive learning technologies may reduce the need for learners to monitor and control their learning.Personalized dashboards support learners' monitoring behaviour and can potentially also support control enactment.Enactment of control could positively affect learners' motivation. What does this paper add: There is a large variation in how learners enact control and whether they comply with the scaffold.Learners who chose more difficult problems experienced more enjoyment, while learners choosing easy problems, experienced more pressure.Learners complied with the scaffold, experienced less choice, but also less pressure and more enjoyment.This study provides avenues to account for broader learner characteristics like SRL and motivation to optimize learning. Practical implications: Support control enactment by actively involve learners in choice during the learning process.Offer monitor and enactment in conjunction, as learners can only make well‐founded choices if they can monitor their learning process.Intrinsically and extrinsically motivated learners showed different choice patterns and learning experience.It is important to have an understanding and monitoring of learners' motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participating in classroom mathematics conversations, particularly engaging with the opinions of others, can improve learners' mathematical comprehension. Teachers can use a variety of invitation and follow-up moves to encourage student engagement. The study aimed to explore teacher follow-up on learners' initial responses to teacher questions and building on learner ideas in Grade 9 mathematics classrooms. A qualitative approach and descriptive case study design were utilised. Data were collected from three schools in the same circuit in South Africa through classroom lesson observations, face-to-face teacher interviews and researchers' field notes. Three Grade 9 mathematics teachers, one from each school, were purposively selected, and the selected teachers' already established Grade 9 classes, with a maximum of 30 learners each (owing to the COVID-19 health protocol), were automatically involved. Cognitively guided instruction, a learner-centred approach that uses social constructivism as a research paradigm, guided this study. The exploration was supplemented by Brodie's conceptual framework on teacher follow-up moves. The findings revealed that the three teachers followed up on learner contributions and used different follow-up moves, namely insert, elicit, press, maintain and confirm. The study showed hybrid teacher moves. Although more teacher moves were skewed towards elicit and insert, which are closer to traditional practices, there is an indication of moving towards the press, maintain and confirm, which are reform-oriented moves. In addition to these moves identified by Brodie, acknowledging or praising the learner for responding was another move that emerged in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many online lessons for emergency remote teaching (ERT) were recorded. However, little is known about how these recordings can be reused as resources for students' active learning. This study aimed to design a post-video learning approach that uses recorded videos of lessons to remediate students' learning losses associated with the pedagogical challenges of ERT. Two classes (54 students in total) with two teachers of general studies and mathematics in a Hong Kong primary school participated in a quasi-experimental study in which they used an approach integrating video selection, visualizations of classroom dialogues, a discussion forum, and quizzes for 10 weeks. After the intervention, the students' mathematics knowledge had improved significantly relative to a comparison group, while the general studies class did not show significant changes. Eight students and two teachers were interviewed about their experiences with the post-video learning approach. The approach appeared to be a pedagogically meaningful way of engaging students in active learning activities and addressing the challenges raised by ERT by recycling recorded lessons. The results of this study also suggest that recorded lessons can be useful learning materials beyond tertiary education as they cater to younger learners' needs in video-based learning by, for example, segmenting class videos, using visualization for easier viewing, and including discussion forums and quizzes for enhanced interaction. The design implications of using video segments and visualized representations of classroom interactions as learning materials and how to foster knowledge co-construction through forums and quizzes are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyze the influence of Habit of Mind, Mathematical Resilience, and Self-Confidence on the ability of fifth-grade students at SDN Gugus Gajah Mungkur, Gajah Mungkur District, Semarang City, to solve HOTS mathematics problems. Employing a quantitative approach with a correlational design, the research sample consists of 110 students, selected through proportional random sampling from a population of 136 students across five elementary schools within the Gajah Mungkur cluster. The research instruments include a mathematical reasoning ability test and a questionnaire to measure the independent variables. Data collection techniques involve tests and questionnaires, while data analysis employs descriptive analysis using Microsoft Excel 2016 and inferential analysis using statistical software such as SPSS. This includes conducting correlation tests, and regression tests, after verifying analysis requirements like normality, linearity, homoscedasticity, and autocorrelation. The results reveal a positive and significant relationship between Habit of Mind, Mathematical Resilience, and Self-Confidence, and the students' ability to solve HOTS Mathematics problems. Thus, this study highlights the importance of developing these three psychological aspects to enhance high-level mathematical problem-solving skills. Consequently, Habit of Mind, Mathematical Resilience, and Self-Confidence significantly contribute to improving students' abilities in solving HOTS Mathematics problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents are considered a major resource in children's numeracy development. The relative role of cognitive and motivational parenting practices, however, is unclear given that the two types of practices have largely been studied in isolation. The current study simultaneously estimated the contributions of several cognitive and motivational parenting practices hypothesized to be important, but which may have overlapping effects. To capture parents' cognitive practices, the level and structure (i.e., prompts vs. statements) of 529 American parents' (80% mothers; 65% White, 20% Black; 33% less than a bachelor's degree) numeracy talk was coded during a challenging numeracy activity. Parents' motivational practices were assessed by coding their autonomy support and control in the activity. Children's (Mage = 7.5 years; 49% girls) engagement of numeracy strategies was also coded. Multilevel minute-to-minute modeling predicting children's engagement from both cognitive and motivational parenting practices indicated that parents' cognitive practices, particularly advanced prompts, predicted children's subsequent engagement of numeracy strategies, which were often advanced. Parents' motivational practices, as reflected in their autonomy support (vs. control), also foreshadowed children's engagement. These effects of the two types of practices were independent of one another. Taken together, the findings are consistent with the idea that cognitive and motivational parenting practices provide distinct resources that can benefit children's math learning. Public Significance Statement: This research suggests that an optimal approach for parents in supporting early elementary children's numeracy learning is to use a combination of (a) prompts that reference relatively advanced numeracy concepts and (b) autonomy-supportive (vs. controlling) parenting practices in interacting with their children in the numeracy context. [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]

Math anxiety is widespread problem described as worry and tension while doing mathematics. The aim of research is to determine whether there is a correlation between math anxiety and the performance of elementary school students in solving mathematical problems at the second level. . The theoretical part of the thesis contains information and empirical findings about math anxiety and solving mathematical problems. The research sample was comprised of 138 (46,38 % girls and 53,62 % boys) 9th grade elementary learners from Slovak republic. The data were collected by the questionnaire of our own design comprising : the modified abbreviated math anxiety scale, the state-trait anxiety inventory, and the math test. Quantitative data analysis methods included descriptive statistics and Spearman coefficient as a measurement of correlation between variables. The results have revealed that mathematics anxiety has significant correlation (R = - 0.401; p = 1,09216.10-6, p < 0.01) with the success of mathematical problems and significant correlation (R = 0.608; p = 2,44249.10-15, p < 0.01) with the mathematics achievement. 36,23 % of the participants reported high math anxiety, and a further 18% were at least somewhat affected by it. The results confirm that the mAMAS questionnaire is an appropriate tool for determining the level of mathematical anxiety among pupils in Slovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the concrete-representational-abstract–integrated (CRA-I) sequence on students with learning disabilities' performance when learning fraction and decimal concepts. Three elementary-level students in Grades 4 and 6 participated in a single-case multiple probe across behaviors study. The intervention involved explicit use of fraction blocks, coins, base ten blocks, number lines, pictures, and abstract symbols to teach unit fractions, fraction and decimal equivalence, addition of fractions with unlike denominators, and writing fractions as decimals. The researchers demonstrated a functional relation between CRA-I and three different behaviors related to fraction concepts: decreased error in estimating fraction magnitude, addition of unlike fractions, and writing fractions as decimals. The findings show promise in the use of CRA-I for teaching fraction concepts to students with learning disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing evidence suggests that success in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields is not only dependent upon one's actual STEM-relevant abilities but also upon one's STEM-relevant attitudes—in particular, math and spatial attitudes. Here, we examine whether simply mentioning the math or spatial relevance of a task affects children's performance and the moderating role of children's math and spatial attitudes. Further, we examine gender differences in performance given pervasive gender gaps in STEM and early-emerging gender differences in math and spatial attitudes. Participants (221 first- to fourth-grade children from the United States; 113 girls, 108 boys; 52% White, 16% Black, 14% Asian, 9% Hispanic or Latinx, 18% multiple races/ethnicities) were introduced to a novel task framed as tapping into math or spatial abilities (or no framing [control condition]). Children then completed math and spatial anxiety and self-concept measures. Results indicate that children who heard the math task framing were less accurate relative to children in the control condition, and the effect was larger for those with higher math anxiety or lower math self-concept, but it was not different for boys and girls. Children who heard the spatial task framing, however, performed comparably to children in the control condition. Though both math and spatial attitudes revealed identical patterns of gender differences (with higher anxiety and lower self-concept in girls than boys), there were no gender differences in performance. This study highlights the salient role of math attitudes early in development and provides key insights for future work aimed at increasing STEM outcomes. Public Significance Statement: Findings reveal that children perform worse on a novel task when it is described as being related to math—but not spatial—skills, and this effect is strongest for children with more negative math attitudes. Moreover, girls had more negative math and spatial attitudes than did boys, but gender differences were not observed in performance on the task. Findings provide key insights into processes implicated in science, technology, engineering, and math outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anemia is a global public health problem, especially common among children in developing countries, which affects their physical and mental health development. However, there is currently a lack of research on the relationship between anemia and academic performance. The objective of this study was to explore the association between anemia and academic performance, and the possible factors mediating this association among Chinese children. The data for this study came from the baseline survey of the Chinese Education Panel Survey Elementary School Cohort. The cohort was conducted from September 2018 to June 2019 in 160 elementary schools, covering 20 provinces and 40 counties/districts throughout China. Paper-based questionnaires were used, completed by 4th grade students, parents, head teachers, main teachers, and principals. The data used included questionnaire responses, physical measurements, and academic performance of 17,695 students. Based on students' hemoglobin levels and school altitude data, we grouped them into anemia and nonanemia categories using WHO criteria. The anemia group had 1,154 individuals, while the nonanemia group had 16,541 individuals. An ordinary least squares regression and mediation effect analysis were conducted. Our findings found the prevalence of anemia was 6.52% among Chinese Grade 4 students. Students without anemia had a higher average test score for three academic subjects than students with anemia (P < 0.001); their test scores for Chinese, Mathematics, and English were also higher (P < 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis showed a negative association between anemia and average test scores as well as individual test scores for the three subjects. Mediation analysis found that anemia affected academic performance directly (P < 0.05), and indirectly by decreasing the cognition score (P < 0.05). The indirect effect was 19.9% of the total effect. Findings highlighted anemia affected academic performance both directly and indirectly. Nutrition-related interventions should be implemented to prevent a decrease in academic performance among students with anemia. [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]

Success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is often believed to require intellectual talent ("brilliance"). Given that many cultures associate men more than women with brilliance, this belief poses an obstacle to women's STEM pursuits. Here, we investigated the developmental roots of this phenomenon, focusing specifically on young children's beliefs about math (N = 174 U.S. students in Grades 1–4; 93 girls, 81 boys; 52% White, 17% Asian, 13% Hispanic/Latinx). We found that field‐specific ability beliefs (FABs) that associate success in math (vs. reading/writing) with brilliance are already present in early elementary school. We also found that brilliance‐oriented FABs about math are negatively associated with elementary school students' (and particularly girls') math motivation—specifically, their math self‐efficacy and interest. The early emergence of brilliance‐oriented FABs about math and the negative relation between FABs and math motivation underscore the need to understand the sources and long‐term effects of these beliefs. Research Highlights: Field‐specific ability beliefs (FABs) are beliefs about the extent to which intellectual talent (or "brilliance") is required for success in a particular field or context.Among adults, brilliance‐oriented FABs are an obstacle to diversity in science and technology, but the childhood antecedents of these beliefs are not well understood.The present study (N = 174) found that FABs that associate success in math (vs. reading/writing) with brilliance were already present in Grades 1−4.Brilliance‐oriented FABs about math were negatively associated with elementary school students' (and particularly girls') math motivation—specifically, their math self‐efficacy and interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Should teachers have complete autonomy over teaching methods and practices, or should some aspects of their practice be determined by school or government policy? We address this question using repeated (value‐added) maths test scores linked to rich survey data from the TALIS video study. With the possible exception of inexperienced teachers, we generally find no relationship between teacher autonomy and pupil outcomes (test scores, maths self‐efficacy or interest in maths). In partial contrast with our findings for pupil outcomes, teachers with very low levels of autonomy are more likely to report reduced job satisfaction. It may hence be that some level of restriction on teacher autonomy is justified, especially among inexperienced teachers, particularly when it represents only partial control of teachers' approaches in the classroom and is done to introduce evidence‐based methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Math programming that includes assessments to predict standardized mathematics scores can help evaluate student performance and growth during the academic year. ACALETICS® is a highly interactive, culturally inclusive mathematics program that utilizes posttests as continuous comprehensive assessments to evaluate student mathematical knowledge. ACALETICS® also seeks to mitigate demographic student factors that may influence outcomes. However, the ACALETICS® posttest has not been examined to determine if it is predictive of standardized mathematics scores. The purpose of this research is to explore how much variance is accounted for by the ACALETICS® posttest scores with the Florida Standards Assessment Mathematics test scores among 427 racially diverse and economically disadvantaged urban elementary school students after controlling for gender, grade level, and race. Findings indicated that the ACALETICS® posttest significantly explained variance in standardized mathematics scores among a diverse sample and can be used as a tool to monitor and predict mathematics outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a focus on within‐person effects, this study investigated mutualism among academic skills (reading, math, science) and between those skills and verbal working memory in a general population sample and groups with high or low skills from Grades 2 to 5 (2010–2016, N = 859–9040, age 6.27–13.13 years, 49% female, ethnically diverse). Mutualism was found between reading and science in all high‐ability groups, and between reading/math and verbal working memory only in high‐math students. These results remained the same when controlled for socioeconomic status and gender, and with sensitivity analyses. High‐skill students (especially high‐math students) may improve academic performance through accumulation of academic knowledge and mutualism between academic and cognition. Such mutualism may be driven by high‐quality, intensive academic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State standards include fluent use of standard computational algorithms. However, learning and using them require conceptual understanding of numbers and operations. Previous research using the concrete–representational–abstract (CRA) sequence has been effective in teaching computational algorithms to students at risk of and students with learning disabilities by emphasizing conceptual understanding. However, all the research was face-to-face and few captured the impact of the intervention on students' conceptual understanding. The current study occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, so researchers modified CRA for remote instruction. This study investigated the effects of modified CRA on the fluency and accuracy of three sixth-grade students with learning disabilities. They also included an assessment of conceptual understanding. The researchers used a multiple probe across participants design, demonstrating a functional relation between CRA and students' fluency and accuracy. Researchers assessed conceptual understanding with informal measures that required application of their conceptual understanding. The results and implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the concept of mathematical modeling, emphasizing its importance in teaching mathematics authentically. It clarifies misconceptions about mathematical modeling, outlines the modeling process, and provides examples of how it can be applied in primary mathematics classrooms. Topics include the definition of mathematical modeling, the modeling process, and its application in primary education.

Executive function (EF) training has shown promise for remedying general EF deficiencies faced by students with mathematics difficulty (MD) and for improving their performance. However, latest research also suggests that the instant and sustained effects of EF training remain inconsistent. In this study, 32 Chinese students with MD, age 7 to 10 years, were recruited and randomly divided into two groups: the training group (n = 16, 25 training sessions) and the control group (n = 16). Both groups took a pretest, a posttest, and a follow-up test (after 6 months) on EF, fluid intelligence, and mathematics skills. In the posttest, the training group's performance significantly improved in 2-back, number shifting, letter shifting, calculation fluency, and mathematics problem-solving tasks, but not in Stroop, Flanker, 1-back, numerical operations, and colored progressive matrices tasks. In the follow-up test after 6 months, the effects of training only on the 2-back and letter shifting tasks were sustained. The effect on the numerical operations task appeared; however, the effects on number shifting, calculation fluency, and mathematics problem-solving tasks disappeared. The results of this study show that EF training has instant effects of improving EF and mathematics skills of students with MD, and 6-month sustained effects on some of the improved skills. However, for fluid intelligence, the effects may be very limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined how children (N = 448) with separate or co-occurring developmental language disorder (DLD) and dyslexia performed on school-based measures of academic functioning between second and fourth grades. Children were recruited from 1 school district in the U.S. state of South Carolina via classroom screenings and met common research criteria for DLD and dyslexia. Growth curve models were used to examine the overall form of growth and differences between groups. Children with DLD and/or dyslexia in second grade showed early and persistent deficits on school-administered measures of reading and math. In second grade, children with typical development (TD) scored significantly higher than children with dyslexia-only and DLD-only, who did not differ from each other. Children with DLD+dyslexia scored significantly lower than all other groups. Only small differences in growth rates were observed, and gaps in second grade did not close. Despite lower academic performance, few children (20%–27%) with dyslexia and/or DLD had received specialized support services. Children with DLD-only received services at less than half the rate of dyslexia-only or DLD+dyslexia despite similar impacts on academic performance. Evidence of significant and persistent functional impacts in the context of low rates of support services in these children—especially those with DLD-only—highlights the need to raise awareness of these disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The ability to translate concrete manipulatives into abstract mathematical formulas can aid in the solving of mathematical word problems among students, and metacognitive prompts play a significant role in enhancing this process. Aims: Based on the concept of semantic congruence, we explored the effects of metacognitive prompts and numerical ordinality on information searching and cognitive processing, throughout the process of solving mathematical word problems among primary school students in China. Sample: Participants included 73 primary school students (38 boys and 35 girls) with normal or corrected visual acuity. Methods: This study was based on a 2 (prompt information: no‐prompt, metacognitive‐prompt) × 2 (number attribute: cardinal number, ordinal number) mixed experimental design. We analysed multiple eye‐movement indices, such as fixation duration, saccadic amplitude, and pupil size, since they pertained to the areas of interest. Results: When solving both types of problems, pupil sizes were significantly smaller under the metacognitive‐prompt condition compared with the no‐prompt condition, and shorter dwell time for specific sentences, conditional on metacognitive prompts, indicated the optimization of the presented algorithm. Additionally, the levels of fixation durations and saccadic amplitudes were significantly higher when solving ordinal number word problems compared with solving ordinal number problems, indicating that primary school students were less efficient in reading and faced increased levels of difficulty when solving ordinal number problems. Conclusions: The results indicate that for Chinese upper‐grade primary school students, cognitive load was lower in the metacognitive prompting condition and when solving cardinal problems, and higher when solving ordinal problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relation to operands (RO) principles describe the relation between operands and answers in arithmetic problems (e.g., the sum is always larger than its positive addends). Despite being a fundamental property of arithmetic, its empirical relation with arithmetic/algebraic problem solving has seldom been investigated. The current longitudinal study aimed to address this issue. Two-hundred-and-two Chinese fifth graders (57% boys) were assessed on their RO understanding. Their arithmetic/algebraic problem solving were assessed multiple times over 2 years. Results from latent growth curve modeling showed that RO understanding predicted the growth in arithmetic/algebraic problem solving when other known predictors of arithmetic/algebraic problem solving were controlled. The findings highlight the role of RO understanding in children's mathematical development. Interventions should be developed to enhance children's RO understanding. Public Significance Statement: The relation to operands (RO) principles, which describe the relation between operands and answers in arithmetic problems (e.g., A + B > A for all positive B), have received little attention in the literature. The current findings illustrate that children's understanding of the RO principles is related to the growth in children's arithmetic/algebraic problem solving performance. Educators should pay more attention to this construct and develop relevant interventions to ensure that children understand these arithmetic principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of research has shown that parent–child math activities predict children's math competence. However, observational studies are limited. This study investigated maternal and paternal scaffolding behaviours in three types of parent–child math activities (i.e., worksheet, game and application activities) and their associations with children's formal and informal math abilities. Ninety‐six 5–6‐year‐olds participated in this study with their mothers and fathers. All children completed three activities with their mothers and three comparable activities with their fathers. Parental scaffolding was coded for each parent–child dyadic activity. Children's formal and informal math abilities were tested individually using the Test of Early Mathematics Ability. Results showed that both mothers' and fathers' scaffolding in application activities significantly predicted their children's formal math ability even after controlling for background variables and their scaffoldings in the other two types of math activities. The findings highlight the importance of parent–child application activities in children's math learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cartesian coordinate system is a fundamental concept for mathematics and science and poses a teaching challenge at primary school level. Learning the Cartesian coordinate system has the potential to promote numerical cognition through number–space associations, as well as core geometric concepts, including isometric transformations, symmetry, and shape perception. Immersive virtual reality (VR) facilitates embodied forms of teaching and learning mathematics through whole-body sensorimotor interaction and offers benefits as a platform to learn the Cartesian coordinate system compared with "real world" classroom activities. Our goal was to validate the Cartesian-Garden, a serious game designed to provide an educationally robust but engaging vehicle to teach these concepts in primary-level mathematics in a multisensory VR environment. In the game, the child explores a Cartesian-Garden, that is, a field of flowers in which each flower corresponds to x and y coordinates. Specifically, we tested whether exploring numbers spatially represented improved spatial and numerical skills independently from the use of VR. Children (n = 49; age 7–11 years old) were divided into experimental and age-matched control groups. The experimental group explored the Cartesian-Garden and picked flowers corresponding to target coordinates; the control group played a VR game unrelated to Cartesian coordinates. To quantify potential improvements, children were tested before and after training with perceptual tests investigating number line and spatial thinking. The results point toward differential age-related improvements depending on the tested concept, especially for the number line. This study provides the guidelines for the successful use of the Cartesian-Garden game, beneficial for specific age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of whole number computation interventions among school students with learning disabilities in Grades K to 5 were examined using a multilevel meta-analysis. Applying a correlated and hierarchical effect model of robust variance estimation, we examined the intervention effects among 15 peer-reviewed articles and dissertations (two group-design and 13 single-case design studies) published between 1989 and 2021. Whole number computation interventions demonstrated a statistically significant and large effect on whole number computation outcomes ( g ¯ = 3.74). The type of mathematical operations, type of whole number computation measures, and the number of instructional components did not significantly affect the magnitude of the effect size estimate. However, the results showed slightly larger average effect sizes for the addition problem, the accuracy measure, and the additional number of instructional components by one. The limitations and implications for the practice of the meta-analysis are discussed, and future research directions are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A longitudinal study was conducted to identify unique sources of individual differences in later understanding of the equal sign as a relational symbol of equivalence (i.e., formal understanding of mathematical equivalence). The sample included 141 children from a mid-sized city in the Midwestern United States (Mage = 6 years, 2 months in kindergarten; 88 boys, 53 girls; 71% white, 8% Hispanic or Latine, 7% Black, 3% Asian, 11% multiracial or other race/ethnicity; 42% qualified for free/reduced lunch). Children were assessed on three categories of skills in kindergarten including number knowledge, relational thinking, and executive functioning. These skills were hypothesized to provide a foundation for a formal understanding of mathematical equivalence (assessed in second grade) by preventing a specific, narrow misunderstanding of the equal sign that hinders learning. Results showed that kindergarten relational thinking, particularly tasks assessing nonsymbolic equivalence understanding, uniquely and positively predicted formal understanding of mathematical equivalence and negatively predicted the specific misunderstanding of the equal sign in second grade, controlling for IQ, gender, and free/reduced lunch status. Exploratory analyses unpacking the categories of skills into individual tasks also indicated specific areas of kindergarten instructional focus that may help children construct understanding of mathematical equivalence in future years. Public Significance Statement: Understanding the equal sign as a relational symbol of equivalence is a foundational pre-algebra concept. We found that children who had higher relational thinking skills in kindergarten had a better understanding of the equal sign by second grade than their peers with lower relational thinking skills in kindergarten. Our findings identify early relational thinking as a potential topic of interest for future research on kindergarten instruction aimed at improving later pre-algebraic learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In undergraduate mathematics education, students' collaborations have gained a reputation as a 'good' learning practice. A more complex image emerges once collaborations are construed as an arena where cognitive, social, and affective matters intertwine in ways that can fuel and impede learning. In this study, I take a close look at a twenty-minute-long interaction between two first-year students who engaged in a sequence of routine problems about dot products presented in a computer-based learning-support system. The commognitive analysis of the interaction revealed an asymmetrical structure: one student led the mathematizing, while his partner followed and invested considerable efforts to avoid making a mathematical contribution. The leader's attempts to switch positions and inquiry into the follower's recurrent refusals to mathematize entailed loaded exchanges that took a toll on both students in terms of identity and affect. I compare these findings to previous studies with school students to discuss possible sources of ineffective communication in situations where students are expected to learn through collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A strong knowledge of mathematics, beginning at the elementary level, is critical for participation in today's complex world. The home may be one way to facilitate individualized mathematics instruction, given that children spend more time at home than in an academic institution. Therefore, researchers are interested to see whether the home numeracy environment (HNE) can provide a solid foundation for children's mathematics understanding. Further, children's digital mathematics exploration at home is increasingly common (e.g., using math apps). Objectives: The present study evaluates the digital home numeracy practice (DHNP) model and explores its effect on children's mathematics knowledge across five domains (numeration, number operation, pattern recognition, spatial sense, and applied problem‐solving). Methods: To conduct this study, 117 Canadian parents and their children from Grade 1 through 5 completed a DHNP survey and a range of in‐person mathematics measures. Results and Conclusions: The results identified significant relations between parents and children's implicit mathematics factors (e.g., math anxiety, motivation). Children's mathematics anxiety and parents' academic estimations and expectations for their children positively predicted children's mathematics knowledge. In terms of DHNP components, parental involvement in DHNP predicted children's numeration and applied problem‐solving knowledge. Implications: Taken together, the results detail the contribution of parental and child factors to children's mathematics knowledge and suggest that parents adjust their role in DHNP according to their children's mathematics ability. Lay Description: What is (not) known about the subject matter?: Research is less developed on the impact of home technology in the mathematics learning processExisting research did not use a multi‐measure approach to assess the relationships between a variety of home numeracy factors and fundamental mathematics concepts and processes What is the contribution of this paper?: The paper highlights the importance of considering different home related factors to understand the role of home numeracy practices in children's mathematics developmentIt provides a holistic view of digital home numeracy practice (DHNP) by examining several implicit and explicit components of home numeracy environmentChildren's mathematics anxiety predicts their mathematics knowledgeParental estimation and expectation about their children's mathematics performance predicts their mathematics knowledge across several domains whereas parental role on DHNP impacts children's numeration only What are the implications of the findings?: The findings provide an understanding of the significant value of including digital mathematics practices in the study of the home mathematics environmentThe outcome of the study provides guidance for educators and researchers to better understand and leverage DHNP, and its impact on children's mathematics educationFuture research should investigate to what extent digital features should be included in the DHNP model. This will provide insights into the impact of using well‐designed apps on children's mathematics learning [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]