The study entitled "Comparative Research: The Use of Local Strategy and Foreign Strategy on Mental Arithmetic Calculation," intended to examine two methods of mental arithmetic utilized by Calumpang National High School students in Grade 7. The mental abacus was the foreign strategy, and the place value strategy was the local one. Using a pre-test and post-test with randomly selected 30 students for each strategy, the study sought to determine how well students performed in terms of speed and accuracy when performing mental arithmetic. he significant differences between the two techniques were ascertained using the Paired T-test. The study showed that while there were no significant differences between the two strategies in addition and subtraction, there were significant difference in multiplication and division. The findings bared that the effectiveness between the local and foreign strategy on mental arithmetic calculation is considered to be partially significant.

Effective support intended to promote children’s well-being has gained scholarly attention worldwide. Well-being is composed of complex elements. Of these elements, the promotion of executive function, which coordinates cognitive activities, via an effective method is important. Regarding the frontal pole in the anterior part of the prefrontal cortex, scholars presume that it is involved in advanced abilities, such as metacognition, and is essential for well-being. In today’s digital society, video games are appealing to children. Thus, a possibility exists that children can achieve certain aspects of well-being, such as a sense of achievement, perseverance, and happiness, by playing video games. In this regard, evidence that video games can be used to activate the prefrontal cortex is accumulating. In light of this discussion, this study hypothesizes that playing video games may affect the frontal pole and analyzes the brain activation of the frontal pole using video games compared with a mental abacus activity. The results demonstrate that playing through an educational game called Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain exhibited more activation potential than mental abacus in many points.

Students' mental mastery in elementary school mathematics lessons in Indonesia is weak, slow, inaccurate, and declining. Mastery problems among elementary school students who have studied mental abacus arithmetic were found to be low. This is an urgent matter to research because there is a gap between theory, expectations, and reality. The purpose of this research was to compare the ability to solve mathematical problems between students who studied abacus mental arithmetic and students who did not study abacus mental arithmetic. This research involved 70 students. Data collection techniques using instruments, the instruments used were the first-semester mathematics exam and mental arithmetic exam. Data analysis techniques using SPSS Version 25.0 statistics, namely the t-test, were used to compare the ability to solve mathematical problems between students who studied mental abacus-arithmetic and students who did not study mental abacus-arithmetic. Pearson correlation was used to determine the relationship between students' mental arithmetic learning achievement and their ability to solve mathematical problems. The results of the research showed that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) in learning achievement on symbolic mathematics questions and mental arithmetic achievement between students who studied mental abacus calculation and students who did not study mental abacus calculation. The minimum score of the group that studied mental abacus calculation was higher compared to the group that did not study mental abacus calculation. However, there was no significant difference (p<0.05) in mathematics learning achievement between students who studied mental abacus-arithmetic and students who did not study mental abacus-arithmetic.

The role of executive function training in supporting child development has been increasingly studied. Executive function is largely related to the prefrontal cortex. The anterior portion of the prefrontal cortex, which is area 10 on the Brodmann map, is essential for the emergence of higher-order executive functions. Accumulating evidence indicates that mental abacus training, which is closely related to mathematics education, activates the prefrontal cortex. Based on these findings, it can be hypothesized that the mental abacus is valuable for training more advanced functions. Therefore, this study analyzed the activation of children’s brains with a focus on the frontal pole (Brodmann area 10). The results illustrated that mental abacus task more strongly activated the brain than piano task, the marshmallow test, or letter–number sequencing tasks. Thus, it was suggested that the mental abacus is valuable for training higher-level executive functions (i.e., frontal pole).

In the field of childcare, the focus has primarily been on executive function (EF) (working memory [WM]), which is a critical factor in daily life. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children’s (WISC-IV) WM Index subtests of the digit span (forward and backward) and letter–number sequencing tasks are used to assess EF (WM). Theoretically, the letter–number sequencing task is more demanding on EF (WM) than the digit span task. Additionally, there is some suggestion of a relationship between EF (WM) and mental abacus (MA) and that MA can easily be performed in daily life. One challenge of supporting EF (WM) is that it is hard to conduct general evaluations and daily activities at home. This study examines the following questions through an empirical study: (1) Can Mental Abacus be used to support executive function in family education? In this study, I measured the cerebral blood flow of one child at home using the HOT-2000 for the tasks of MA and the WISC-IV. As a result, I was able to show that for that child, MA could have an effect on EF(WM). Although this is only one example, for parents, it has been important in showing that it is not impossible in the field of home education where there are many different kinds of children. The findings provide a new perspective regarding evaluating EF (WM) in cognitive psychology and neuropsychology and are valuable in breaking through previous research.

This paper will explore zhusuan (the study and practice of the use of the abacus), China’s 30th entry into the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and will look at zhusuan study as a developmental trend in the theory and practice of culture and education. This paper adopts a comprehensive research method that includes literature review and profile analysis. Profile analysis uses the CNKI database as for the scope of its searches to comprehensively review the theory and educational practice of zhusuan study. The research and development of zhusuan study can be roughly organized into three aspects: 1) From courses within the system to education outside of the system; 2) From a cultural view to educational view; 3) From the Han cultural milieu to the cross-cultural sphere. Research on zhusuan study can be divided into three stages: 1) The past: the history and culture of zhusuan; 2) The present: Research on zhusuan culture and education; 3) The future: Research on the integration of zhusuan across separate disciplines. This study believes that: Owing to the transformation of zhusuan theory and educational discourse ecology, zhusuan has expanded from the Han cultural milieu to a cross-cultural sphere, and the educational practice of “mental abacus” has also been integrated across separate disciplines. That being the case, this study suggests that zhusuan research can be developed in three directions: 1) Taking multiple intelligences as its theoretical basis; 2) Taking interdisciplinarity as its research method; 3) Taking lifelong education as its educational discipline.

Much attention has been paid to the enhancement of working memory, which can improve children’s lives. Part of the value of working memory training is that it activates the prefrontal cortex. Therefore, it is important to determine the parts of the prefrontal cortex that are activated by working memory training. While there is much evidence that mental abacus effectively trains working memory, few studies have assessed whether the abacus (Soroban) in Japan should be considered an effective training approach for working memory and if it activates the prefrontal cortex. Therefore, in this case study, a 16-channel functional near-infrared spectroscopy device (OEG-16H, Spectratech, Japan) was used to compare brain activation during the abacus task using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Working Memory Index tasks (i.e., digit span (forward), digit span (backward), letter–number sequencing, and picture span tasks). First-grade boys and fifth-grade girls participated in this study. The results revealed that the anterior part of the prefrontal cortex was specifically activated by the abacus task. These findings support the possibility that the abacus activity is an effective training approach for working memory.

In Asia, some children are taught a calculation technique known as the ‘mental abacus’. Previous research indicated that mental abacus experts can perform extraordinary feats of mental arithmetic, but it disagrees as to whether the technique improves working memory. The present study extended and clarified these findings by contrasting performance from several numerical and working memory tasks across three groups of participants: Japanese mental abacus experts, abacus-naïve Australian undergraduates, and abacus-naïve Japanese undergraduates. It also investigated whether the mental representations and strategies used to process two-digit numbers differed across the three groups. First, the results showed that the Japanese mental abacus experts only performed better when the numerical and working memory tasks involved arithmetic problems, suggesting domain-specific transfer rather than domain-general improvements to numerical processing or working memory. Second, the results suggest that the Japanese mental abacus experts were less reliant on decomposed magnitude representations, and used a processing strategy that is less sensitive to the perceptual overlap between numbers. Finally, performance was less discrepant between the Australian and Japanese abacus-naïve undergraduates than either group with the Japanese mental abacus experts, indicating that mental abacus training, rather than socio-cultural differences, was responsible for the observed group differences.

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of mental abacus calculation training (MACT) on subliminal cognitive processes. Twenty children with intensive MACT (MACT group) and 20 children without MACT (non-MACT group) were selected. The two groups of children were matched in age, sex, handedness and academic grade. The participants were tested with subthreshold arithmetic priming task while their neural activities were recorded with a 32-channel electroencephalogram system. We found that MACT changed the subliminal cognitive mechanism of computational processing, speeding up the computation. MACT affected the computational processing mode. Specifically, in the identification stage, both groups of children adopted the visual space processing mode, while in the computing stage, the MACT group adopted a visual space processing mode, but the non-MACT group adopted a semantic processing mode. Moreover, MACT improved children's executive functions. These results yielded insights into the effect of early abacus training on children's cognitive processing, providing a theoretical basis for the development and promotion of abacus training.

The development of executive functions is remarkable in early childhood. Therefore, research on how to support the development of executive functions is actively being conducted. It has already been indicated that executive functions are related to the prefrontal cortex. Recent evidence suggests that the prefrontal cortex is involved in mental abacus (MA). Further, the study of the abacus—the base of MA—is good for not only mathematics but also nurturing the brain. However, although the abacus is easy to learn, learning opportunities have shrunk because of the widespread use of calculators. Through this educational pilot case study, I examined whether it is possible that even easy calculations during the introduction of abacus calculation in early childhood may have an effect on executive function support. I measured the activation of cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex of a young child while he worked on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV; Working Memory Index tasks (forward digit-span task, backward digit-span task, and letter–number sequencing task); and the abacus calculation task using HOT-2000 (NeU, Japan), a two-channel wearable functional near-infrared spectroscopy device. The results revealed a significant difference between the abacus calculation task and the forward digit-span task; however, there was no significant difference between the abacus calculation task and other tasks. In other words, the brain in the prefrontal cortex was more activated in the abacus task than in the forward digit-span task. Difficulty levels were found to be in the order of the forward digit-span task, backward digit-span task, and letter–number sequencing task. Thus, there is a possibility that even simple abacus calculation has a positive effect on executive functions, especially working memory support, in early childhood. This study’s results provide a breakthrough in cognitive psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, and other fields related to child support, which are struggling to find valuable, practical practices for children in the field (i.e., schools and homes) beyond the laboratory.

Improving cognitive function in older adults through Mental Abacus Training: A Single-Arm Pilot Study

Chinese kindergarteners skilled in mental abacus have advantages in spatial processing and attention

ABSTRACT.The literature indicates that cognitive stimulation interventions have shown promising results. Abacus represents a tool with great potential in such interventions.Objectives: To carry out a systematic review of studies published in recent years that entailed the delivery of a cognitive training program using an abacus to boost target cognitive abilities of older persons and also other age groups, with or without cognitive impairment.Methods: A systematic review study was conducted in July 2020 involving PubMed, MedLine, LILACS, and SciELO databases.Results: A total of 29 studies were retrieved, of which 8 aimed to identify the effect of abacus-based mental calculation (AMC) for different age groups and to determine its applicability as a method of cognitive stimulation for older adults. In AMC technique, participants first learn to use the physical abacus (PA) and after achieving proficiency they perform calculations using a mental image of the device, manipulating the beads of the so-called mental abacus (MA).Conclusions: The number of studies addressing abacus use as a cognitive training tool was rather limited, considering the relevance of the theme. Their interventions have shown benefits for cognitive functioning of individuals of various age groups, including older adults with cognitive impairment. Future studies that involve larger samples of healthy and/or cognitively impaired older adults with a longitudinal design and a more elaborate methodological design are suggested.

Mental Abacus (MA) training teaches students to solve math problems by visualizing a physical abacus structure to perform arithmetic operations. Research shows that MA practice relates with enhanced working memory in children, but other cognitive processes that could mediate the benefits registered remain unknown. The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of MA training in a cognitive flexibility task in twelve-year-old children, and compare it with a control group. 121 children from the sixth course of primary education were recruited. 54 students received MA training added during the academic year, while the control group received normative arithmetic instruction. MA training was provided by UCMAS Mental Arithmetic Spain S.L. To assess cognitive flexibility, we used the Trail Making Test (TMT). Data analysis entailed parametric assumptions check and a one-way ANOVA between MA and control group. There were no differences between groups in age. There were statistical differences in TMT-A (Z=-5,78, p<,001, d=,67) and TMT-B scores (Z=-2,24, p=,021, d=,08). Our data suggest that MA enhances cognitive flexibility in children. MA is a promising tool teaching math which benefits go beyond arithmetic calculation.

Mental abacus is mental arithmetic with the help of an imagined abacus. Children skilled in mental abacus have been shown to exhibit top-quality arithmetic abilities. The current study investigated whether children with high-level mental abacus ability could outperform untrained control children in non-symbolic number sense, which is considered to be fundamental for arithmetic development. One hundred and fifty children (75 children skilled in mental abacus and 75 controls) took part in this study. Children skilled in mental abacus completed a mental abacus level test. The two groups of children performed serial cognitive tasks, assessing non-symbolic number comparison, arithmetic, language, spatial processing, visual perception, attention, processing speed, working memory, and general intelligence. Results showed that children skilled in mental abacus had significantly better non-symbolic number sense than the other children after controlling for general intelligence. The significant difference in non-symbolic number sense remained after controlling for age, gender, all types of cognitive processing available, and arithmetic performance. A mediation model showed that non-symbolic number sense partially mediated the group difference in arithmetic development. These findings suggest that children skilled in mental abacus have enhanced non-symbolic number sense and raise the possibility that mental abacus training could directly improve children’s non-symbolic numerical skills.

In this investigation, MAC (mental abacus calculation) trained and unchained (control) groups of elementary school children were measured with Raven Reasoning Intelligence Test and basic cognitive abilities; the tested scores were processed with transverse (across-sectional) comparisons between the two groups in the same time as well as longitudinal comparisons within the same groups in different times; and roles of MAC in developing children's intelligence were discussed. Our results showed: (1) The intelligence quotient (IQ) of the children in MAC group was significantly higher (P ﹤0.01) than that of the control group when the cross-sectional comparisons were performed, and (2) the cognitive abilities of children in MAC group were more significantly improved (P ﹤0.05) when the longitudinal comparisons were performed. Conclusion: MAC trainings can promote developments of children's IQ, basic cognitive abilities and intelligence. Children's brain function has a strong plasticity and huge space to develop.Read Complete Article at ijSciences: V82019052074 AND DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18483/ijSci.2074

In this investigation, MAC (mental abacus calculation) trained and unchained (control) groups of elementary school children were measured with Raven Reasoning Intelligence Test and basic cognitive abilities; the tested scores were processed with transverse (across-sectional) comparisons between the two groups in the same time as well as longitudinal comparisons within the same groups in different times; and roles of MAC in developing children's intelligence were discussed. Our results showed: (1) The intelligence quotient (IQ) of the children in MAC group was significantly higher (P ﹤0.01) than that of the control group when the cross-sectional comparisons were performed, and (2) the cognitive abilities of children in MAC group were more significantly improved (P ﹤0.05) when the longitudinal comparisons were performed. Conclusion: MAC trainings can promote developments of children's IQ, basic cognitive abilities and intelligence. Children's brain function has a strong plasticity and huge space to develop.

Abacus mental arithmetic involves the skilled acquisition of a set of gestures representing mathematical algorithms to properly manipulate an imaginary abacus. The present study examined how the beneficial effect of abacus co-thought gestures varied at different skill and problem difficulty levels. We compared the mental arithmetic performance of 6- to 8-year-old beginning (N = 57), intermediate (N = 65), and advanced (N = 54) learners under three conditions: a physical abacus, hands-free (spontaneous gesture) mental arithmetic, and hands-restricted mental arithmetic. We adopted a mixed-subject design, with level of difficulty and skill level as the within-subject independent variables and condition as the between-subject independent variable. Our results showed a clear contrast in calculation performance and gesture accuracy among learners at different skill levels. Learners first mastered how to calculate using a physical abacus and later benefitted from using abacus gestures to aid mental arithmetic. Hand movement and gesture accuracy indicated that the beneficial effect of gestures may be related to motor learning. Beginners were proficient with a physical abacus, but performed poorly and had low gesture accuracy during mental arithmetic. Intermediates relied on gestures to do mental arithmetic and had accurate hand movements, but performed more poorly when restricted from gesturing. Advanced learners could perform mental arithmetic with accurate gestures and scored just as well without gesturing. These findings suggest that for intermediate and advanced learners, motor-spatial representation through abacus co-thought gestures may complement visual-spatial representation of a mental abacus to reduce working memory load.

Mental Abacus (MA) is a popular arithmetic technique in which students learn to solve math problems by visualizing a physical abacus structure. Prior studies conducted in Asia have found that MA can lead to exceptional mathematics achievement in highly motivated individuals, and that extensive training over multiple years can also benefit students in standard classroom settings. Here we explored the benefits of shorter-term MA training to typical students in a US school. Specifically, we tested whether MA (1) improves arithmetic performance relative to a standard math curriculum, and (2) leads to changes in spatial working memory, as claimed by several recent reports. To address these questions, we conducted a one-year, classroom-randomized trial of MA instruction. We found that first-graders students struggled to achieve abacus expertise over the course of the year, while second-graders were more successful. Neither age group showed a significant advantage in cognitive abilities or mathematical computation relative to controls, although older children showed some hints of an advantage in learning place-value concepts. Overall, our results suggest caution in the adoption of MA as a short-term educational intervention.

People frequently gesture when problem-solving, particularly on tasks that require spatial transformation. Gesture often facilitates task performance by interacting with internal mental representations, but how this process works is not well understood. We investigated this question by exploring the case of mental abacus (MA), a technique in which users not only imagine moving beads on an abacus to compute sums, but also produce movements in gestures that accompany the calculations. Because the content of MA is transparent and readily manipulated, the task offers a unique window onto how gestures interface with mental representations. We find that the size and number of MA gestures reflect the length and difficulty of math problems. Also, by selectively interfering with aspects of gesture, we find that participants perform significantly worse on MA under motor interference, but that perceptual feedback is not critical for success on the task. We conclude that premotor processes involved in the planning of gestures are critical to mental representation in MA.