Abstract
In this study, it was investigated how domain-specific (number sense) and domain-general (working memory, creativity) factors explain the variance in mathematical abilities in primary school children. A total of 166 children aged 8 to 10 years old participated. Several tests to measure math ability, mathematical creativity, number sense, verbal and visual spatial working memory and creativity were administered. Data were analyzed with a series of correlation and regression analyses. Number sense, working memory and creativity were all found to be important predictors of academic and creative mathematical ability. Furthermore, groups with math learning disabilities (MLD) and mathematical giftedness (MG) were compared to a typically developing (TD) group. The results show that the MLD group scored lower on number line estimation and visual spatial working memory than the TD group, while the MG group differed from the TD group on visual spatial working memory and creativity. It is concluded that creativity plays a significant role in mathematics, above working memory and number sense.
Highlights
In this study, it was investigated how domain-specific and domain-general factors explain the variance in mathematical abilities in primary school children
The role of domain-specific and domain-general factors in academic and creative mathematics ability of primary school children was investigated. First it was investigated how different aspects of number sense and working memory are related to mathematical ability in fourth graders
The numberline task (R 2) and the symbolic comparison task were found to be good predictors of mathematical skills, even in fourth grade students. We found both verbal and visual spatial working memory to be predictors of math ability, with verbal working memory the strongest predictor, as expected at this age at which children start memorizing basic mathematical knowledge and procedures and because the problems in the tests were presented in a verbal format
Summary
It was investigated how domain-specific (number sense) and domain-general (working memory, creativity) factors explain the variance in mathematical abilities in primary school children. Several other cognitive factors have been related to math, such as processing speed (e.g., Peterson et al, 2017; Willcutt et al, 2013), or phonological skills (e.g., Barnes et al, 2014; Slot, Van Viersen, De Bree, & Kroesbergen, 2016), working memory and number sense together explain a substantial part of the variance in mathematics (e.g., 48-50% in Kroesbergen & Van Dijk, 2015; 24-28% in Toll, Kroesbergen, & Van Luit, 2016) These two factors are related to mathematics in typically developing (TD) children, but they have repeatedly been found to explain differences between children with mathematical learning disabilities (MLD) and TD children (e.g., Geary, Hoard, Byrd-Craven, Nugent, & Numtee, 2007; Mazzocco, Feigenson, & Halberda, 2011; Mussolin, Mejias, & Noël, 2010; Piazza et al, 2010; Raghubar, Barnes, & Hecht, 2010; Schuchardt, Maehler, & Hasselhorn, 2008). This supports the view that number sense deficits can explain MLD, but that other factors are important too
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