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Previous studies in a variety of countries have shown that there are substantial individual differences in children’s spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON), and these differences are positively related to the development of early numerical skills in preschool and primary school. A total of 74 5-year-olds participated in a 7-year follow-up study, in which we explored whether SFON measured with very small numerosities at 5 years of age predicts mathematical skills and knowledge, math motivation, and reading in fifth grade at 11 years of age. Results show that preschool SFON is a unique predictor of arithmetic fluency and number line estimation but not of rational number knowledge, mathematical achievement, math motivation, or reading. These results hold even after taking into account age, IQ, working memory, digit naming, and cardinality skills. The results of the current study further the understanding of how preschool SFON tendency plays a role in the development of different formal mathematical skills over an extended period of time.

هدف هذا البحث إلي تعرف أثر استخدام إستراتيجية شکل البيت الدائري أثناء تدريس "وحدة المجموعات" في مادة الرياضيات لتلاميذ الصف الخامس الإبتدائي على تحصيلهم الدراسي والاحتفاظ بالتعلم واتجاهاتهم نحو المادة. وتکونت عينة البحث من (103) تلميذا وتلميذة؛ (67) تلميذا، (36) تلميذة، موزعين على فصلين، اختير أحدهما ليکون المجموعة التجريبية، ودرس بإستراتيجية شکل البيت الدائري، والآخر ليکون المجموعة الضابطة، ودرس بالطريقة التقليدية في التدريس. وتوصل البحث إلي وجود فروق دالة إحصائيا بين المجموعتين (التجريبية والضابطة)، لصالح المجموعة التجريبية في الاختبار التحصيلي والاحتفاظ بالتعلم ومقياس الاتجاه نحو المادة. واستنادا إلي نتائج البحث، توصي الباحثة معلمي ومعلمات مادة الرياضيات باستخدام إستراتيجية شکل البيت الدائري في التدريس، لما لها من أثر فاعل في تحسين تحصيلهم واتجاهاتهم نحو المادة.کما تقترح إجراء مزيد من البحوث حول أثر استخدام إستراتيجية شکل البيت الدائري في تدريس الرياضيات وعلاقتها ببعض سمات الشخصية لدي المتعلمين مثل: مفهوم الذات، دافعية الإنجاز، قلق الرياضيات .... وغيرها. The effect of using the "Round-house Diagram Strategy" on the mathematical achievement of primary school students , learning retention, and attitudes toward mathematics. The aim of this research is to identify the effect of using the "Round-House Diagram Strategy" while teaching the unit of "Sets" in math for the fifth grade students on: their mathematical achievement, learning retention, and attitudes towards mathematics. The sample consisted of (103) students (67 male, 36female), divided into two groups: one is the experimental group who learned using the "Round-house Diagram Strategy", while the other is the control group who learned the same subject using the common way of teaching. The results concluded that there were statistically significant differences between the two groups for the favor of the experimental group in: the achievement, learning retention, and attitudes towards mathematics. Based on these results, it was recommended to use "Round-house Diagram Strategy" by mathematics teachers, as using this strategy in teaching has positive effect in improving students 'achievement, also improve their attitudes towards mathematics. The researcher also suggests further research on : the effect of using this strategy in teaching different topics of math, and the effect on students' personality such as: self-concept, achievement motivation and math anxiety.

It is commonly found that deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students experience delayed mathematical achievement. The present study used two nonsymbolic comparison tasks to explore the basic numerical skills of DHH students. Nine prelocutive DHH students with cochlear implants and nine hearing students, matched on nonverbal IQ, visual short-term memory, and verbal comprehension, were recruited. The participants performed two different collection comparison tasks with different ratios and under different perceptual conditions. Analyses by task showed similar response times, accuracy, and ratio effects for both groups on the Low Perceptual Condition task, a finding suggesting that the two groups accessed similar representations of quantity. Differences in performance on the simpler High Perceptual Condition task, on which the DHH group showed slower response times, probably were strategic in origin. The results suggest that DHH students have no deficits in basic numerical skills.

Ensuring that kindergarten children have a solid foundation in early numerical knowledge is of critical importance for later mathematical achievement. In this study, we targeted improving the numerical knowledge of kindergarteners (n = 81) from primarily low-income backgrounds using two approaches: one targeting their conceptual knowledge, specifically, their understanding of numerical magnitudes; and the other targeting their underlying cognitive system, specifically, their working memory. Both interventions involved playing game-like activities on tablet computers over the course of several sessions. As predicted, both interventions improved children’s numerical magnitude knowledge as compared to a no-contact control group, suggesting that both domain-specific and domain-general interventions facilitate mathematical learning. Individual differences in effort during the working memory game, but not the number knowledge training game predicted children’s improvements in number line estimation. The results demonstrate the potential of using a rapidly growing technology in early childhood classrooms to promote young children’s numerical knowledge.

Large individual differences in children’s mathematics achievement are observed from the start of schooling. Previous research has identified three cognitive skills that are independent predictors of mathematics achievement: procedural skill, conceptual understanding and working memory. However, most studies have only tested independent effects of these factors and failed to consider moderating effects. We explored the procedural skill, conceptual understanding and working memory capacity of 75 children aged 5 to 6 years as well as their overall mathematical achievement. We found that, not only were all three skills independently associated with mathematics achievement, but there was also a significant interaction between them. We found that levels of conceptual understanding and working memory moderated the relationship between procedural skill and mathematics achievement such that there was a greater benefit of good procedural skill when associated with good conceptual understanding and working memory. Cluster analysis also revealed that children with equivalent levels of overall mathematical achievement had differing strengths and weaknesses across these skills. This highlights the importance of considering children’s skill profile, rather than simply their overall achievement.

هدف البحث لتحدید فعالیة وحدة تدریبیة فى عادات العقل فى تنمیة التحصیل الریاضى و التفکیر الإبداعى و الاتجاه نحو عادات العقل و نحو الریاضیات لدى الطالبات الجامعیات و استخدم المنهج شبه التجریبى ذو المجموعتین التجریبیة والضابطة ، و تم تحلیل محتوى مقرر مبادئ الریاضیات وتحدید أسس بناء وحدة عادات العقل وأعد دلیل التدریب فى وحدة عادات العقل ، و اختبار تحصیلى فى وحدة عادات العقل واختبار تحصیلى فى مقرر مبادئ الریاضیات ومقیاس اتجاهات نحو عادات العقل و مقیاس اتجاهات نحو الریاضیات واستخدم اختبار مهارات التفکیر الإبداعى للعالم تورانس ، و دربت المجموعة التجریبیة على توظیف عادات العقل أثناء دراستها مقرر مبادئ الریاضیات بینما درست المجموعة الضابطة المقرر بالطریقة المعتادة و أثبتت نتائج البحث أن تدریب الطالبات على توظیف عادات العقل أثناء تعلم مقرر مبادئ الریاضیات کان له أثر وفعالیة فى تنمیة مستوى التحصیل فى الریاضیات و الاتجاه الإیجابى نحوها ، وکذلک أثر فى تنمیة التفکیر الإبداعى ککل و على مستوى کل مهارة فرعیة وأوصى البحث بتأصیل عادات العقل فى مناهج الریاضیات المدرسیة و تضمین أهداف تنمیة عادات العقل ضمن أهداف تعلیم الریاضیات المدرسیة فى جمیع المراحل التعلیمیة و تطویر مناهج الریاضیات المدرسیة کما و کیفا بتضمینها أنشطة ومواقف متنوعة تزید فرص تکوین عادات العقل لدى الطلاب. The aim of this research is to estimate the effect of the training unit in the habits of minds to develop mathematical achievement, creative thinking, and attitude toward the training unit and toward the mathematics ,among the female university students. The content of pre-calculus mathematics course was analyzed. The fundamental of unit preparation were specified. The teacher guide was prepared and the experimental group were trained to incorporate the habits of mind through their studying the pre- calculus mathematics course whereas the control group studied the regular used method. An achievement exam was prepared in habits of mind and . An achievement exam in the course itself and attitude scale for habits of mind and for mathematics and creative thinking test was used. The results have shown that training students in employing habits of minds in learning the course had a positive effect in improving mathematic achievement, creative thinking skills and their positive attitude towards mathematics. Also, it had a positive permanent effect on the students themselves.

Students evaluate their domain-specific abilities by comparing their own achievement in one domain to that of others (social comparison), to their own previous achievement (temporal comparison), as well as their own achievement in another domain (dimensional comparison). The theories underlying these three comparison processes each assume an upward comparison with a better-off standard to lead to lower self-concept and a downward comparison with a worse-off standard to result in higher self-concept, instead. However, there is a lack of studies investigating the joint effects of simultaneously activated social, temporal, and dimensional comparisons. To close this gap, two experimental studies and one field study were conducted. In Studies 1 (N = 80) and 2 (N = 80), participants were asked to infer the mathematical self-concept of fictitious students after receiving experimentally manipulated social, temporal, and dimensional information about the fictitious students’ achievement in mathematics. In Study 3 (N = 225), participants were asked to report their own mathematical self-concept after rating their mathematical achievement in comparison to social, temporal, and dimensional standards. In all three studies, similar main effects for each of the three comparisons were found leading to lower self-concept following upward comparisons and higher self-concept following downward comparisons. Effect sizes differed, though, indicating social comparisons to have the largest effect, whereas the effects of temporal and dimensional comparisons were small to medium sized. No interaction effects were found. The findings therefore indicate that all three comparison processes are independent and have additive effects on academic self-concept.

Many children with hearing loss (CHL) show a delay in mathematical achievement compared to children with normal hearing (CNH). This study examined whether there are differences in acuity of the approximate number system (ANS) between CHL and CNH, and whether ANS acuity is related to math achievement. Working memory (WM), short-term memory (STM), and inhibition were considered as mediators of any relationship between ANS acuity and math achievement. Seventy-five CHL were compared with 75 age- and gender-matched CNH. ANS acuity, mathematical reasoning, WM, and STM of CHL were significantly poorer compared to CNH. Group differences in math ability were no longer significant when ANS acuity, WM, or STM was controlled. For CNH, WM and STM fully mediated the relationship of ANS acuity to math ability; for CHL, WM and STM only partially mediated this relationship. ANS acuity, WM, and STM are significant contributors to hearing status differences in math achievement, and to individual differences within the group of CHL. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Children with hearing loss often perform poorly on measures of math achievement, although there have been few studies focusing on basic numerical cognition in these children. In typically developing children, the approximate number system predicts math skills concurrently and longitudinally, although there have been some contradictory findings. Recent studies suggest that domain-general skills, such as inhibition, may account for the relationship found between the approximate number system and math achievement. What does this study adds? This is the first robust examination of the approximate number system in children with hearing loss, and the findings suggest poorer acuity of the approximate number system in these children compared to hearing children. The study addresses recent issues regarding the contradictory findings of the relationship of the approximate number system to math ability by examining how this relationship varies across children with normal hearing and hearing loss, and by examining whether this relationship is mediated by domain-general skills (working memory, short-term memory, and inhibition).

In this study, it is aimed to investigate middle school students’ visual math literacy self-efficacy perceptions in terms of different variables (gender, grade levels, math achievement, etc.). For this purpose, screening model was employed in the study. The study was carried out 460 middle school students. Demographic information form and “Visual Math Literacy Self-Efficacy Perception Scale” were used as data collection tools. The middle school students’ visual math literacy self-efficacy perceptions were found to be at moderate level. There were no significant differences between the students’ visual math literacy selfefficacy perceptions according to gender and grade levels. On the other hand, there were significant differences between their visual math literacy self-efficacy perceptions according to math achievement and parents’ educational levels. It was observed that the visual math literacy self-efficacy perceptions increased as mathematical achievement increased. It was determined that there was a significant moderate positive correlation between visual math literacy self-efficacy perceptions and math achievement. Besides, visual math literacy self-efficacy perceptions increased as parents’ educational levels increased. Keywords: Visual math literacy; self-efficacy perception; middle school students.

What developmental roles do nonsymbolic (e.g., dot arrays) and symbolic (i.e., Arabic numerals) magnitude comparison skills play in children's mathematics? We assessed a large sample in kindergarten, grade 1 and 2 on two well-known nonsymbolic and symbolic magnitude comparison measures. We also assessed children's initial IQ and developing Working Memory (WM) capacities. Results demonstrated that symbolic and nonsymbolic comparison had different developmental trajectories; the first underwent larger developmental improvements. Both skills were longitudinal predictors of children's future mathematical achievement above and beyond IQ and WM. Nonsymbolic comparison was moderately predictive only in kindergarten. Symbolic comparison, however, was a robust and consistent predictor of future mathematics across all three years. It was a stronger predictor compared to nonsymbolic, and its predictive power at the early stages was even comparable to that of IQ. Furthermore, the present results raise several methodological implications regarding the role of different types of magnitude comparison measures.

We examined children's number-based and digit-based strategy use profiles on multi-digit subtraction problems in relation to task performance and individual (gender, grade, mathematical achievement level) and contextual (country) characteristics. 318 third- to sixth-graders solved a multi-digit subtraction strategy use task, where half of the subtraction problems had number characteristics that stimulated the number-based compensation strategy. First, latent class analyses revealed five strategy use profiles. Most children consistently relied on one strategy (either digit-based strategies or the number-based decomposition or sequential strategies) across problems. Only a minority of children demonstrated strategy variety and flexibility – more often high achievers and children from higher grades. Second, children's strategy instruction history was related to their profile of strategy use, but this relation was less straightforward than generally assumed. Finally, consistent digit-based strategy users were more accurate than consistent decomposition strategy users and varied number-based strategy users.

تهدف الدراسة إلي التعرف على أثر برنامج مقترح قائم على أنماط التعلم لتنمية وظائف جانبي (الدماغ الکلي) والحس العددي لدي تلاميذ المرحلة الابتدائية ,وقد استخدم الباحث عينة من الطلاب يبلغ قوامها (70) متعلم, مقسمة إلي مجموعتين أحدهما ضابطة والأخرى تجريبية کل منها (35) تلميذ من تلاميذ الصف الرابع الابتدائي يطبق عليها أدوات الدراسة المکونة من: استبانة أنماط التعلم ) حرکي, بصري, سمعي(, وذلک لتحديد نسب أنماط التعلم لدي تلاميذ العينة التجريبية بعد تطبيق البرنامج المقترح علي المجموعة التجريبية تلاها تطبيق ثلاثة أدوات بعدية هي: (مقياس جانبي الدماغ - اختبار جانبي الدماغ في الرياضيات –اختبار الحس العددي) 1- تم استخدام برنامج ( SPSS) لحساب المتوسط، والانحراف المعياري لدرجات طلاب مجموعة الدراسة، وقيمة "ت" للفروق بين متوسطي درجات المجموعتين الضابطة والتجريبية في مقياس وظائف جانبي الدماغ وکانت النتائج کالأتي: أ) الجانب الأيمن: حيث بلغ متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة الضابطة (10,3143)، ومتوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية( 13,6571), وبلغت قيمة (ت) المحسوبة (11,102), أي ان متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية البعدي أکبر من متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة الضابطة بفروق ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى دلالة (0,01). ب) الجانب الأيسر: حيث بلغ متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة الضابطة (11,3714)، ومتوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية(14,0286), وبلغت قيمة (ت) المحسوبة (10,129), أي ان متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية البعدي أکبر من متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة الضابطة بفروق ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى دلالة (0,01). ج) الدماغ الکلي: حيث بلغ متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة الضابطة (32,6000)، ومتوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية(50,4000), وبلغت قيمة (ت) المحسوبة (28,959), أي ان متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية البعدي أکبر من متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة الضابطة بفروق ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى دلالة (0,01).وحجم تأثير(0,962), 2- کما تم استخدام برنامج ( SPSS) لحساب المتوسط، والانحراف المعياري لدرجات طلاب مجموعة الدراسة، وقيمة "ت" للفروق بين متوسطي درجات القبلي والبعدي، في اختبار وظائف جانبي الدماغ في الرياضيات, وکانت النتائج کالأتي: أ) الجانب الأيمن: حيث بلغ متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة الضابطة (10,6857)، ومتوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية (14,2000), وبلغت قيمة (ت) المحسوبة (9,388), أي ان متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية البعدي أکبر من متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة الضابطة بفروق ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى دلالة (0,01). ب) الجانب الأيسر: حيث بلغ متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة الضابطة (10,6857)، ومتوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية(14,5143), وبلغت قيمة (ت) المحسوبة (10,283), أي ان متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية البعدي أکبر من متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة الضابطة بفروق ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى دلالة (0,01). ج) الدماغ الکلي في الرياضيات: حيث بلغ متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة الضابطة (12,0000)، ومتوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية(18,7714), وبلغت قيمة (ت) المحسوبة (8,127), أي ان متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية البعدي أکبر من متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة الضابطة بفروق ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى دلالة (0,01). وحجم تأثير(0.753). 3- کما تم استخدام برنامج ( SPSS) لحساب المتوسط، والانحراف المعياري لدرجات طلاب مجموعة الدراسة ، وقيمة "ت" للفروق بين متوسطي درجات القبلي والبعدي، في اختبار الحس العددي حيث بلغ متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة الضابطة (18,7714)، ومتوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية(11,6000), وبلغت قيمة (ت) المحسوبة (41,50) أي أن متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية البعدي أکبر من متوسط درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية القبلي بفروق ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى دلالة (0,01) وحجم تأثير ( 0,712), مما يوضح مدي أثر البرنامج التعليمي المقترح علي تنمية کلا من وظائف الدماغ الکلي ومهارات الحس العددي.وقد أوصت الدراسة بأهمية استخدام مثل هذه الدراسة الحالية وأدواتها في دراسات ومراحل دراسية أخري This study aims to know the effect of suggested program in mathematics based on learning styles for development of the both sides of the brain (whole brain) functions and number sense for students in primary four – grade class to achieve the objectives , The study used two-groups each o (35) students; a control group has been taught the usual way of teaching and an experimental one, A learning styles questionnaire (kinetic, visual, and auditory) to determine the ratios of learning styles of the experimental sample and then they were taught by the proposed program. This was followed by the administration of the three instruments after teaching as: Test of Brain Dominance. Test of Brain Dominance in mathematics. Test of number sense skills. Data were statistically analyzed via the use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) calculations and test (T), The results of analysis showed that there is a statistically significant difference at (.01) between the Experimental and control groups in favor of the scores of the Experimental group. This indicated that the suggested program had a positive effect on improving students’ whole brain functions and number sense skills.So it is recommended to use this program on a wider scale on different classes to improve mathematical achievement , number sense and whole brain mathematical function.

Unprecedented swings in the real price of owner-occupied housing may have affected child development. We merge longitudinal data on child and young adult outcomes with information on local house prices and market rents, and analyze both the short- and long-term effects of the price of housing experienced during childhood. The results indicate that the price of owner-occupied housing has a small negative effect on children's mathematical achievement, but no consistent impact on reading achievement, behavior problems, or a child's body mass index. A higher average price of housing experienced during childhood has a negative effect on the wage rate of young adults, consistent with the negative effect on childhood mathematical achievement.

هدف البحث إلى تحديد أثر استخدام إستراتيجية الأبعاد السداسية للتعلم PDEODE وإستراتيجية الکتابة من أجل التعلم في تنمية مهارات حل المشکلات الرياضية وزيادة الدافعية للإنجاز فى الرياضيات لدى تلاميذ المرحلة الابتدائية، تکونت مجموعة البحث من مجموعة تجريبية و أخرى ضابطة من تلاميذ الصف السادس الابتدائى، وقد تم تطبيق اختبار مهارات حل المشکلات ومقياس الدافعية للإنجاز قبليا، ثم درست المجموعة التجريبية وحدتين من مقرر الرياضيات باستخدام الاستراتيجيتين، ودرست المجموعة الضابطة نفس الوحدتين بالطريقة المعتادة، وأعيد تطبيق اختبار المشکلات ومقياس الدافعية بعديا على المجموعتين، ثم أعيد تطبيقهما مرة أخرى على تلاميذ المجموعة التجريبية کتطبيقا بعديا مؤجلا ( لتحديد مدى بقاء أثر التعلم) بعد مرور 26 يوم من التطبيق البعدى لهما، وتوصل البحث إلى تفوق تلاميذ المجموعة التجريبية على تلاميذ المجموعة الضابطة فى قدرتهم على حل المشکلات الرياضية بعديا، وأيضا زيادة مستوى الدافعية للإنجاز فى الرياضيات لدى تلاميذ المجموعة التجريبية بعديا عن مستوى الدافعية للإنجاز لدى تلاميذ المجموعة الضابطة بعديا، وتحسن قدرة تلاميذ المجموعة التجريبية على حل المشکلات الرياضية بعديا مقارنة بقدرتهم على حلها قبليا، و أيضا زيادة مستوى دافعية الإنجاز فى الرياضيات لدى تلاميذ المجموعة التجريبية بعديا مقارنة بمستوى دافعيتهم للانجاز قبليا، إضافة إلى بقاء أثر التعلم بالنسبة للقدرة على حل المشکلات الرياضية لدى تلاميذ المجموعة التجريبية، وأيضا بقاء أثر التعلم بالنسبة للتحسن الحادث فى مستوى الدافعية للإنجاز فى الرياضيات لدى تلاميذ المجموعة التجريبية. The current study aimed at identifying the effect of using PDEDDE strategy and the writing strategy for learning on developing mathematical problems solving skills, the mathematical achievement motivation and the retention of learning for the primary stage learners. The study had one experimental and one control group from the sixth primary students. The problem solving skills test and the mathematical achievement motivation measurement were pre applied on the two groups. The experimental group studied the two chosen units using PDEDDE and the control group studied using the traditional way. The tools of the study were post applied on the two groups. The tools were applied again after 26 days to measure the retention of learning. The study concluded that the experimental group surpassed the control group in their abilities in mathematical problems solving skills, the mathematical achievement motivation and the retention of learning. The study proved after the data analysis to have positive effect on developing the target skills.

The present study is a survey in nature to find out reasoning ability among higher secondary students in Madurai District. The investigator in order to find out reasoning ability among higher secondary students developed and validated a tool for the study. The tool is of a multiple choice type consisting of 50 items. The investigator selected a stratified random sample of 303 higher secondary students for the study. Data were collected from the sample. The data were given appropriate statistical treatments. The findings revealed that among higher secondary students 61.38 % of them are poor in reasoning ability, 21.45 % of them are average in reasoning ability, 16.5% of students are very poor in reasoning ability and only 0.66 % of students are good in reasoning ability. There exists a positive correlation between mathematical achievement and reasoning ability. There is no significant difference in reasoning ability among higher secondary students in terms of gender. It can be interpreted that both male and female students are uniform in reasoning ability.

Since the early 70s, there has been recognition that there are specific differences in achievement based on variables, such as gender and socio-economic background, in terms of mathematics performance. However, these differences are not unilateral but rather quite specific and relate strongly to spatial reasoning. This early work has paved the way for thinking critically about who achieves in mathematics and why. This project innovatively combines the strengths of the two Chief Investigators—Lowrie’s work in spatial reasoning and Jorgensen’s work in equity. The assumptions, the approach and theoretical framing used in the study unite quite disparate areas of mathematics education into a cogent research program that seeks to challenge some of the long-held views in the field of mathematics education.

Symbolic and non-symbolic magnitude representations, measured by digit or dot comparison tasks, are assumed to underlie the development of arithmetic skills. The comparison distance effect (CDE) has been suggested as a hallmark of the preciseness of mental magnitude representations. It implies that two magnitudes are harder to discriminate when the numerical distance between them is small, and may therefore differ in children with mathematical difficulties (MD), i.e. low mathematical achievement or dyscalculia. However, empirical findings on the CDE in children with MD are heterogeneous, and only few studies assess both symbolic and non-symbolic skills. This meta-analysis therefore integrates 44 symbolic and 48 non-symbolic response time (RT) outcomes reported in nineteen studies (N=1630 subjects, aged 6-14 years). Independent of age, children with MD show significantly longer mean RTs than typically achieving controls, particularly on symbolic (Hedges' g=0.75; 95% CI [0.51; 0.99]), but to a significantly lower extent also on non-symbolic (g=0.24; 95% CI [0.13; 0.36]) tasks. However, no group differences were found for the CDE. Extending recent work, these meta-analytical findings on children with MD corroborate the diagnostic importance of magnitude comparison speed in symbolic tasks. By contrast, the validity of CDE measures in assessing MD is questioned. ispartof: Research in Developmental Disabilities vol:64 pages:152-167 ispartof: location:United States status: published

This article presents the results of a study of mathematical fluency in high school students. We provide a definition of mathematical fluency and illustrate the relevance of the research by presenting an overview of studies examining mathematical fluency development and its relationship with success in mathematical disciplines. A computerized test “Problem Verification Task” (Tosto et al., 2013) was administered to 692 high school students from one public secondary school (grades 9/10/11: n = 336/210/146) in the Moscow region. The stimuli consisted of 48 elementary arithmetic equations along with answer options. To indicate a correct answer, participants were instructed to press the corresponding key on the keyboard as quickly as possible. Two-way ANOVA was used to estimate grade and sex similarities and differences in mathematical fluency at the high school level. The current study has two primary findings: (1) students differed in math fluency across grades, and (2) there were no sex differences in mathematical fluency at the high school level. ANOVA exhibited significant differences in mathematical fluency among all three groups of students at grades 9, 10 and 11 with a 19% effect size. These results may be associated with the accumulating effects of the educational process: high school students in each subsequent year of schooling demonstrate a higher level of mathematical fluency on average compared to the previous year. At the same time, we observed no sex differences in mathematical fluency at the high school level. The results are discussed in terms of educational effects.

International audience; Fingers have been recurrently associated with number development and mathematical achievement. Specifically finger gnosis have been considered as a potential precursor of numerical learning. However recent findings cast doubt on the existence of a link between finger gnosis and numerical skills. In fact, finger gnosis and canonical finger representations are both different aspects that could influence numerical development but have not been distinguished in previous research. The current study aimed at dissociating the specific contribution of both aspects in a longitudinal setting. Children were tested twice: at the end of kindergarten and nine months later, in first grade. We used two specific finger tasks a finger gnosis task and a rapid-automatized-naming of finger numeral configurations (finger RAN). Numerical representation was assessed by number line estimations in kindergarten and first grade. Results showed that finger gnosis were not related to numerical representation accuracy at any time point. Finger RAN performances though were uniquely related to the numerical representation accuracy one year later, even out of the range of finger counting. The visual recognition of numbers as supported by finger configuration thus seems to be important when fingers support numerical representations. The present findings have theoretical implications about the link between fingers and number(s) across development.

Recent studies aiming to facilitate mathematical skill development in primary school children have explored the electrophysiological characteristics associated with different levels of arithmetic achievement. The present work introduces an alternative EEG signal characterization using graph metrics and, based on such features, a classification analysis using a decision tree model. This proposal aims to identify group differences in brain connectivity networks with respect to mathematical skills in elementary school children. The methods of analysis utilized were signal-processing (EEG artifact removal, Laplacian filtering, and magnitude square coherence measurement) and the characterization (Graph metrics) and classification (Decision Tree) of EEG signals recorded during performance of a numerical comparison task. Our results suggest that the analysis of quantitative EEG frequency-band parameters can be used successfully to discriminate several levels of arithmetic achievement. Specifically, the most significant results showed an accuracy of 80.00% (α band), 78.33% (δ band), and 76.67% (θ band) in differentiating high-skilled participants from low-skilled ones, averaged-skilled subjects from all others, and averaged-skilled participants from low-skilled ones, respectively. The use of a decision tree tool during the classification stage allows the identification of several brain areas that seem to be more specialized in numerical processing.

This study investigated reliability and validity evidence regarding the Early Numeracy test (EN-test) in a sample of 1139 Swedish-speaking children (587 girls) in kindergarten (n = 361), first grade (n = 321), and second grade (n = 457). Structural validity evidence was established through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), which showed that a four-factor model fit the data significantly better than a one-factor or two-factor model. The known-group and cross-cultural validity were established through multigroup CFAs, finding that the four-factor model fit the gender, age and language groups equally well. Internal consistency for the test and sub-skills varied from good to excellent. The EN-test can be considered as an appropriate assessment to identify children at risk for mathematical learning difficulties.

In this study, the effects of number sense-based instruction on students’ mathematics-related self-efficacy and performance were studied. Self-efficacy relates to both mathematics and number sense, while student performance consists of their number sense, problem solving, general mathematical achievement, and recognition of mathematics in daily life. This was an experimental study where both quantitative research and pretest/posttest control group designs were utilized. The fifteen-week study was conducted with a group of sixth-grade students attending a public school located in the Cankaya district in Ankara Province, Turkey, including thirteen weeks to implement the instructional plan and two weeks for employing the scales. During this process, while students in the test group were introduced to number sense-based training, the control group adhered to the regular syllabus where teachers based most of their instruction on textbooks. The study, beyond its demonstration of number sense, also evaluates number sense development in the context of an instructional plan designed for long-term implementation and contributes to the study of changes in other variables involved in development. Throughout the study, the Number Sense Test was used to identify the number sense of students. The Mathematics Self-Efficacy Perception Scale was used to assess their self-efficacy. The Number Sense Self-Efficacy Scale was used to identify their number sense self-efficacy. The Mathematics in Daily Life Survey was used to assess their recognition of mathematics in daily life. The Problem-Solving Test was used to assess their achievement in solving problems, and end-of-term grading was used to identify their overall mathematical achievement. Data were analyzed with multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests using SPSS 15.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Il). The results of the analyses revealed that students who received instruction based on number sense experienced significant improvement in their number sense, their recognition of mathematics in daily life, and their problem-solving achievements compared to students who received only regular instruction. Number sense-based instruction did not create any significant changes in mathematics self-efficacy, number sense self-efficacy, or the overall mathematical achievements of the students.

The present study aimed at uncovering the effectiveness of employing the enrichment activities for mental thinking on the development of mathematical thinking and achievement among Grade 7 students. To achieve the research objectives, the researcher used the semi experimental design known as the design of the control group with the tribal and remote tests. In light of the experimental design, the average Grade 7 students tested the sample of the study in the second semester of 30 students who were divided into 15 students for the experimental group and 15 students for the control group after checking the validity and stability of the tools. The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference at (0.05) between the mean scores of the experimental and control groups in the cognitive achievement test related to the unit of Engineering in the second semester and the mathematical thinking test for the average of the experimental group. The results also showed a statistically significant difference) between the average scores of the experimental group students in the tribal and remote applications in the cognitive achievement test and the mathematical thinking test, and in favor of the average post-implementation. In the light of these results, the study presented a number of recommendations and suggestions. ، ، ، ،

The primary- to secondary-education transition is a substantive life event for many children. The transition can be associated with changes in the developmental trajectories of both emotional health and academic achievement. The current study looked at whether the trajectory of mathematical attainment and emotional health (anxiety) across this transition predicted later maths anxiety. A secondary analysis of data from the Twin Early Development Study (TEDS) was performed. The statistical models were fit on the 753 participants (one from each twin pair) for which there were measures of mathematical performance across the primary- to secondary-education transition and maths anxiety at age 18. Two multi-level growth models were fit predicting mathematical attainment and anxiety over the primary- to secondary-education transition. The intercepts and slopes for each child were extracted from these models and used as predictors of subsequent maths anxiety at age 18. These effects were adjusted for biological sex, socio-economic status, verbal cognitive ability and general anxiety. Maths anxiety at age 18 was significantly predicted by both pre-transition levels of anxiety and mathematical attainment and their rate of change across the primary- to secondary-education transition. However, the effects were small, suggesting that theories of maths anxiety may have overplayed the role of prior mathematical attainment and general anxiety.