Arithmetic Skills Research Articles

درجة امتلاك طالبات المرحلة المتوسطة في مدينة أبها لمهارات الحساب الذهني من وجهة نظر المعلمات

The research aimed to determine the degree to which middle school students in the city of Abha possessed mental arithmetic skills from the teachers’ point of view. The research used a social survey approach, and the sample consisted of (94) female teachers. The research concluded that the degree to which middle school students possessed mental arithmetic skills was low with an average arithmetic ( 1.50) from the point of view of teachers in the city of Abha, where the arithmetic averages of the research sample’s responses ranged between (1.91 – 1.11), The research recommended the necessity of holding training courses to develop the skills of mathematics teachers to train female students to use mental arithmetic skills, the necessity of diversity among mathematics teachers in using modern teaching methods to teach mathematical concepts, and the necessity of preparing programs and applications to enhance mental arithmetic skills among middle school female students.

Phonological skills and executive functions: their effects on reading and arithmetic abilities across varied performance levels using quantile regression

ABSTRACT We aimed to investigate the effects of phonological awareness – PA, rapid automatised naming – RAN, visuospatial and verbal working memory – WM and executive functions – EF on the reading and arithmetic skills of children with low- to medium-performance levels. Participants were 472 Brazilian children from 3rd to 5th grades. Quantile Regression Analysis was employed. The PA, RAN and EF were shared main predictors of both reading and math. Verbal WM emerged as a unique main predictor for reading, while visuospatial WM and visuospatial short-term memory were the main predictors for arithmetic. Among children with very low reading proficiency, the effects of cognitive predictors were more pronounced, a trend not observed in arithmetic. The results suggest varying magnitudes of cognitive predictors for reading when considering different levels of performance/difficulties. We also corroborate unique and shared main predictors of reading and math that have implications for research, clinical and educational settings.

Arithmetic Proficiency of Pre-Service Science Teachers: An Empirical Study

Mastery of arithmetic operations is fundamental for students pursuing science education, as these skills are essential in solving complex problems in physics, chemistry, and biology. However, gaps in students' arithmetic proficiency can hinder their academic and professional development. This study aims to examine the arithmetic skills of pre-service science teachers in solving mathematical problems across six domains: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, and mixed operations. A total of 37 short-answer questions were administered, and the results were analyzed by domain. The findings indicate that students demonstrate proficiency in basic operations involving whole numbers, particularly in addition and subtraction. However, challenges persist in the areas of fractions, decimals, and mixed operations, where accuracy rates were notably lower. These gaps in understanding may affect students' ability to apply mathematical concepts in their science courses and future teaching roles. The study's limitations include a focus on quantitative results without exploring the cognitive processes behind student errors. Future research should investigate intervention strategies to address these weaknesses, potentially through targeted instructional approaches or the use of technology to enhance learning outcomes

The associations between mathematical skills, cognitive performance, and language background in elementary school children. a two-year follow-up study

ABSTRACT Early mathematical skills contribute to later school performance and socio-economic status. Working memory is related to mathematical skills, but spatial and language skills have independent effects on separate areas of mathematical skills such as solving word problems or arithmetic skills. In this study, 9- to 10-year-old children's (N = 57) cognitive and mathematical skills were assessed three times over 2 years. Spatial reasoning was associated with performance in solving word problems and working memory with performance in the arithmetic test. Regarding word problems, girls outperformed boys. Also, the second-language learners performed similarly to the native speakers in the beginning and in the end of the third grade, but worse in the end of the fourth grade. The results suggest that the students’ inadequate mastery of the school language may lead to underachievement in mathematics, implying that further efforts should be invested in supporting their language learning.

Conscious and Unconscious Processes in the Arithmetic Priming Task Depend on the Arithmetic Skill

The study examined the role of conscious and unconscious processes depending on the level of arithmetic skill. The participants were divided into two groups according to their arithmetic skill based on the calculation fluency test results. Masked and unmasked single-digit addition problems (primes) followed by correct and incorrect results were presented on the screen. In a conscious perception task (unmasked priming), when large and small problem results were presented, an arithmetic N400 and LPC effects were observed in both groups. In the case of unconscious perception (masked priming), when small problem results were presented, the LPC effect was observed in the group with low arithmetic skill. The fact that the LPC arithmetic effect was discovered during the unconscious presentation may indicate the automatic nature of the encoding and retrieving information processes, reflecting neurophysiological characteristics associated with the level of arithmetic skill.

Development of Virtual Reality-Based Left Brain System

This paper proposes a virtual reality based Left Brain System named BrainUp World to improve left brain thinking. The left-brain system was employed with mobile virtual reality technology, hand motion tracking and haptic feedback system. The implementation of these systems is to enhance the experience and sense of embodiment. BrainUp World includes virtual reality-based brain training games to improve a person’s attention level, reasoning skill, auditory cognition, arithmetic skill, sequencing skill and memory. The hand tracking system was utilized with an IR camera to capture the hand orientation and return the gesture data to the VR application. A low-cost and lightweight haptic glove was invented which provides the sense of touch using vibrations while interacting with VR contents. An experimental study was conducted to assess the efficacy of BrainUp World compared to traditional PC-based training approaches. Participants were randomly assigned to either the VR-based or PC-based training group and underwent 6 different games to test a person’s attention level, reasoning skill, auditory cognition, arithmetic skill, sequencing skill, and memory. The results revealed a statistically significant improvement in left brain function in the VR-based training group compared to the PC-based group, with a T-score growth of 4.73. Analysis using ANOVA confirmed the significance of this difference (p-Value = 0.04). Notably, the study also identified age-related differences in thinking fluency, highlighting the importance of personalized cognitive training interventions. In conclusion, BrainUp World demonstrates the potential of VR technology in promoting left brain development, as evidenced by empirical findings from the conducted study. By offering immersive and interactive cognitive training experiences, VR-based systems hold promise for enhancing various aspects of cognitive function associated with left hemisphere dominance. Further research in this area is encouraged to explore the full potential of VR-based interventions for cognitive enhancement.

Формирование элементарных математических представлений у детей с ограниченными возможностями здоровья (с нарушением зрения)

The aim of this study is to improve the math skills of preschool children (5-7 years old) with visual impairment. In this context, it is expected that the target behavior of children with visual impairment will be changed through the creation of a specialized educational space that promotes the formation of mathematical abilities, arithmetic skills, creativity, ability to plan and organize their activities. The research group consists of 48 preschool children (5-7 years old) with visual impairments. The study was conducted in the fall of the 2023-2024 school year. During the study, the preschoolers received eight weeks of training to improve math skills. The study found that numeracy and math skills in preschool children with visual impairments had a positive effect on cognitive development, fine motor skills, and motivation to learn.

English Language Learning and Acquisition Theories

Introduction: Language is a powerful tool and means of communication and to communicate with others we also use other ways such as Body manners, gestures, signals and facial expressions which is also called as a non-verbal communication. English is a tool, like basic arithmetic, or literacy, or computer skills. An ability they need to master in order to function effectively in today’s world. The L1 remains the learners primary language and the only they identify with what teachers aiming for is functional English-knowing bilingualism. Socio-political status: With the European trade patterns, most of the known European-based Creole languages were existed in the coastal regions of the Americas, Western Africa, Goa and along with the west coast of India. Indian Ocean Creole languages are based on European languages with elements from Malagasy and possibly other Asian languages. Learning Language Through Culture: Learning other language is to understand the nature of the relationship between language and culture, learners need to engage with the ways in which context affects what is communicated and how. Standard English is the variety of English that is generally acknowledged as the model for the speech and writing of educated speakers in UK. It is also associated with Received Pronunciation or accent. Intuitive acquisition: We learn anther language the same way as we learnt our first language or mother tongue. Intuitive acquisition through lots of exposure to the language in authentic communicative situations. Habit-formation: Language is a set of habits: we mimic and memorize and drill the patterns of the language until we learn to produce the correct forms automatically. Cognitive Process: Language involves the understanding of underlying rules: if we master these rules, we will be able to apply them in different contexts. That may be at school, home, with community or with others. Skill-learning: Language is a skill. We learn it in school just as we learn other skills: someone explains rules or words to us, we understand and practice them until we master them and use them fluently and skillfully.

Varieties of Number-Line Estimation: Systematic Review, Models, and Data

The psychophysical function that best fits human data from number-line estimation is the subject of a lively, on-going debate with important theoretical and practical implications. We comprehensively reviewed articles which tested competing psychophysical functions and found systematic variablility in task design. To test whether one function could account for data across diverse tasks, we examined 158 children’s and adults’ estimates using two 2 × 2 designs, crossing symbol (symbolic, non-symbolic) and boundedness (bounded, unbounded) on free number-line tasks (Experiment 1) and crossing the same factors on anchored tasks (Experiment 2). This yielded eight varieties of number-line estimation: four old varieties for testing replicability and four new varieties for testing generalizability. Across the eight varieties, 88.84 % of participants provided estimates better fit by a mixed log-linear model than competing models, with weights of the logarithmic component (λ) decreasing with age in each task. Unlike parameters of competing models, λ on any given task significantly predicted λ on the other 7 tasks, as well as predicting arithmetic skills. Results suggest that representations of numerical magnitude play the largest part in number-line estimation, and the “logarithmic-to-linear shift” provides the most accurate and generalizable description of how number-line estimation develops. (196 words)

Structural and transcriptional signatures of arithmetic abilities in children

Arithmetic ability is critical for daily life, academic achievement, career development, and future economic success. Individual differences in arithmetic skills among children and adolescents are related to variations in brain structures. Most existing studies have used hypothesis-driven region of interest analysis. To identify distributed brain regions related to arithmetic ability, we used data-driven cross-validated predictive models to analyze cross-sectional behavioral and structural MRI data in children and adolescents. The gray matter volume (GMV) of widespread brain regions reliably predicted arithmetic abilities measured by the Comprehensive Mathematical Abilities Test. Furthermore, we applied neuroimaging-transcriptome association analysis to explore transcriptional signatures associated with structural patterns of arithmetic ability. Structural patterns of arithmetic ability primarily correlated with transcriptional profiles enriched for genes involved in transmembrane transport and synaptic signaling. Our findings enhance our understanding of the neural and genetic mechanisms underlying children’s arithmetic ability and offer a practical predictor for arithmetic skills during development.

Finger Configurations and Kindergarteners’ Mathematical Abilities

ABSTRACT Previous research has demonstrated a link between children’s ability to name canonical finger configurations and their mathematical abilities. This study aimed to investigate the nature of this association, specifically exploring whether the relationship is skill and handshape specific and identifying the underlying mechanisms involved. Five-year-old children in Spain (N = 143) were assessed on their ability to name canonical finger configurations and analogous representations (buildings on a hill), alongside a range of mathematical skills (counting, knowledge of the verbal count sequence, single-digit arithmetic, and subitizing). Findings indicated that five-year-olds only recognize single-hand canonical finger configurations as summary symbols, processing them holistically. However, no direct association was found between the ability to recognize these configurations and the assessed mathematical skills. Notably, only the ability to name finger configurations corresponding to larger numbers (requiring enumeration) was associated with children’s arithmetic skills, suggesting that these configurations elicit combinatorial processes that are handshape specific. The implications of these findings for cognitive development and mathematical assessment are discussed, highlighting the potential for finger configurations as a tool for fostering mathematical understanding and the need for further exploration of their cognitive underpinnings.

Predicting Adolescent Arithmetic and Reading Dysfluency.

The long-term negative consequences of learning difficulties have been acknowledged. Nonetheless, research is still scarce regarding the prediction of adolescent difficulties in reading and arithmetic skills. The present study examines at which age phase and with what kind of constellation of parent- and child-related factors can adolescent difficulties in arithmetic and/or reading fluency be successfully predicted. A sample of Finnish children (N = 941) was followed from the onset of kindergarten (at age 6) through adolescence (ages 13-16). Children's cognitive skills were assessed in kindergarten, and arithmetic and reading fluency were examined in Grades 2, 4, 6, 7, and 9. Parents' self-report data were collected on their own learning difficulties and educational level. Scoring below the 16th percentile in both Grades 7 and 9 was set as the criterion for dysfluency either in reading (N = 87, 9.2%) or arithmetic (N = 84, 8.9%). Adolescent dysfluency in both domains was moderately predicted by parental measures and kindergarten cognitive skills. Although adding school-age fluency measures clearly increased both the predictability and specificity of models up to Grade 4 for both skills, knowledge of letters' names, counting, and visuospatial skills remained unique predictors of dysfluency in adolescence.

Linguistic precursors of sixth-grade geometric and fraction skills in children with and without Developmental Language Disorder

BackgroundPrevious research has shown that foundational linguistic skills (i.e., phonological awareness and grammatical ability) indirectly (through arithmetic skills) predict growth from fifth-to sixth-grade geometric and fraction skills. AimsOur study aimed to investigate the linguistic precursors of sixth-grade geometric and fraction skills in children with and without DLD, while examining potential (cognitive) strengths within the DLD group that may partly compensate for learning geometry and fractions, at both the group and individual level. SampleParticipants were 46 children with DLD and 122 typically developing peers from 9 to 11 years of age. MethodsClassroom and individual measures were administered in both grade 4 and grade 6. ResultsAt the group level, results showed children with DLD to score below their peers on arithmetic, geometric, and fraction skills. Furthermore, indirect effects of phonological awareness and naming speed, via arithmetic skills, on geometric and fraction skills were found to be equally strong for both groups. In addition, similar strengths for both groups were found for nonverbal intelligence, academic vocabulary, and verbal reasoning in directly predicting the scores in geometric and fraction skills. Finally, at the individual level, a strength in verbal reasoning was found to partly compensate the delays in mathematics in children with DLD. ConclusionsThe educational needs of children with and without DLD in mathematics learning might be more quantitative in nature than that they are qualitative. In addition, identifying individual strengths should be integrated into standardized test batteries and treatment approaches.

Upaya Meningkatkan Kemampuan Berhitung Melalui Media Pembelajaran Papan Jurang Pada Siswa Kelas II SD YPK Bethania Mariadei

Based on the results of interviews conducted with grade 2 teachers of YPK Bethania Mariadei Elementary School, it was obtained that students still had difficulty in understanding the material on addition and subtraction operations (borrowing and without borrowing). After conducting initial observations to measure students' initial abilities, the following information was obtained: 1) 2 students out of 21 students with a percentage of 9.5% obtained scores above or reaching the KKM, 2) 19 students out of 21 students with a percentage of 90.5% had not obtained scores reaching the KKM. As for the minimum completion score in Mathematics, it is 60 with a success indicator of ≥ 75%. The purpose of this study is to improve students' addition and subtraction arithmetic skills through the use of the cliff board learning media (addition and subtraction). This study uses a classroom action research method. Data collection was taken using a learning outcome test on the ability to count addition and subtraction arithmetic and observations for teacher and student activities using qualitative and quantitative analysis. The results achieved after implementing the ravine board media (addition and subtraction) are that in learning activities it was found that there was an increase in student abilities above the KKM in cycle I reaching 42.9% while in cycle II it reached 86%. So it can be concluded that the application of the ravine board learning media (addition and subtraction) can improve the ability to calculate addition and subtraction in grade 2 students of YPK Bethania Mariadei Elementary School

Brain markers of subtraction and multiplication skills in childhood: task-based functional connectivity and individualized structural similarity.

Arithmetic, a high-order cognitive ability, show marked individual difference over development. Despite recent advancements in neuroimaging techniques have enabled the identification of brain markers for individual differences in high-order cognitive abilities, it remains largely unknown about the brain markers for arithmetic. This study used a data-driven connectome-based prediction model to identify brain markers of arithmetic skills from arithmetic-state functional connectivity and individualized structural similarity in 132 children aged 8 to 15years. We found that both subtraction-state functional connectivity and individualized SS successfully predicted subtraction and multiplication skills but multiplication-state functional connectivity failed to predict either skill. Among the four successful prediction models, most predictive connections were located in frontal-parietal, default-mode, and secondary visual networks. Further computational lesion analyses revealed the essential structural role of frontal-parietal network in predicting subtraction and the essential functional roles of secondary visual, language, and ventral multimodal networks in predicting multiplication. Finally, a few shared nodes but largely nonoverlapping functional and structural connections were found to predict subtraction and multiplication skills. Altogether, our findings provide new insights into the brain markers of arithmetic skills in children and highlight the importance of studying different connectivity modalities and different arithmetic domains to advance our understanding of children's arithmetic skills.

Hakikat Evaluasi Pendidikan Islam Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara Medan

Evaluation of Islamic education is necessary to assess student progress, the effectiveness of teaching methods, identify student needs, increase student motivation, and raise educational standards. This study employs a qualitative research. Evaluation in Islamic education is also important to raise the standard of instruction by adhering to evaluation principles such as objectivity, overall and sustainable. Benefits of evaluation include more in-depth understanding, character development, arithmetic skill enhancement, arithmetic mean for individuals and groups, and appropriate learning strategies. As long as appropriate evaluation principles are applied, the learning process can be made enjoyable and continuously progress to meet the goals of Islamic education in the best possible way.

PENDAMPINGAN BELAJAR SISWA SEKOLAH DASAR UNTUK MENINGKATKAN KEMAMPUAN CALISTUNG

This study focuses on the learning assistance at Rumah Baca Loloan aimed at improving the reading, writing, and arithmetic (calistung) skills of elementary school students. The background of this research is the concern over the low calistung abilities among elementary school students, which could potentially hinder their academic performance in the future. This assistance program is implemented in response to the urgent need to improve basic skills through a more personalized and supportive learning approach. The assistants, consisting of trained PGSD students, pay special attention to the students, ensuring they receive the necessary help to overcome learning difficulties. The results of the assistance show a significant improvement in the students' calistung abilities after participating in this program. Indicators of improvement include increased reading fluency and text comprehension, improved writing skills with correct spelling and sentence structure, as well as increased speed and accuracy in basic arithmetic. Additionally, there is an increase in students' motivation to learn and self-confidence. The significance of these findings is that learning assistance outside of formal school hours can play an important role in enhancing students' basic skills. Support from parents and the community also proves to be crucial in the success of this program. The importance of this service lies in the evidence that structured and sustained interventions can have a significant positive impact on students' academic development, highlighting the need to expand similar programs to reach more students in need.

The contribution of working memory and spatial perception to the ability to solve geometric problems

Geometry is a branch of mathematics that deals with the properties of space, including distance, shape, size, and the relative position of figures. It is one of the oldest branches of mathematics and has applications in various fields such as science, art, architecture, and even in areas seemingly unrelated to mathematics. Studies show that working memory and spatial perception contribute to students' geometry performance. This paper presents multiple studies demonstrating the brain regions activated when solving geometric problems. Interestingly, the brain areas activated when solving algebraic problems are different from those activated when solving geometric problems. Finally, multiple studies are presented that indicate students with learning difficulties lag in geometry, as solving geometric problems requires good reading and arithmetic skills.

Interrelations Between Acuity of the Approximate Number System and Symbolic Skills in Preschool Children

ABSTRACT This study investigates how the approximate number system (ANS) and young children’s symbolic skills jointly develop and interact. Specifically, the study aims at disentangling the directionality of the association between ANS acuity and a wide range of symbolic skills that reflect 4- to 5-year-olds’ symbolic quantitative knowledge (enumeration skills, knowledge of the verbal count sequence, symbolic comparison skills, and single-digit arithmetic). After accounting for individual differences in several domain-general skills (visuospatial working memory, non-verbal reasoning, and phonological processing), path models on longitudinal data collected from 4-year-old childen in Spain (N = 62) over one year revealed that earlier single-digit arithmetic and symbolic magnitude comparison skills predicted changes in ANS acuity over time. No contribution from earlier ANS to improvements in symbolic skills was found. Notably, the strength of the effect of visuospatial working memory on improvements in ANS acuity over time was like that of the auto-regressor – the correlation between measures of ANS acuity across time points. Implications for extant theories on the nature of the associations between ANS and young children’s symbolic skills are drawn.

A longitudinal study of the role of fingers in the development of early number and arithmetic skills in children with Apert syndrome.

This paper discusses a longitudinal study with children with Apert syndrome aged between 4 and 11 years. There has long been an interest in the role of fingers in the development of early number skills and arithmetic. As children with Apert syndrome are born with complex fusions of their fingers, they have to undergo several surgical procedures in order to obtain individuated fingers. This has implications for their finger mobility and finger awareness. It has been suggested that children with Apert syndrome have specific difficulties with early number and arithmetic activities. The findings from this study suggest that engaging children with Apert syndrome in activities that develop finger awareness (finger gnosis) and finger mobility (fine motor skills) may have a positive impact on their ability to engage with appropriate mathematics curricula at school. This is relevant to all those involved in the care of children with Apert syndrome and will be of particular relevance to those involved in early childhood and primary education. This study also provides new insights into the role of finger use in the development of skills and understanding in early number and arithmetic.