A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä
Training counting skills and working memory in preschool
Tekijät: Kyttala M, Kanerva K, Kroesbergen E
Kustantaja: WILEY-BLACKWELL
Julkaisuvuosi: 2015
Journal: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
Tietokannassa oleva lehden nimi: SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY
Lehden akronyymi: SCAND J PSYCHOL
Vuosikerta: 56
Numero: 4
Aloitussivu: 363
Lopetussivu: 370
Sivujen määrä: 8
ISSN: 0036-5564
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12221
Previous studies have shown that early numeracy skills predict later mathematics learning and that they can be improved by training. Cognitive abilities, especially working memory (WM), play an important role in early numeracy, as well. Several studies have shown that working memory is related to early numeracy. So far, existing literature offers a good few examples of studies in which WM training has led to improvements in early numerical performance as well. In this study, we aim at investigating the effects of two different training conditions: (1) counting training; and (2) simultaneous training of WM and counting on five- to six-year-old preschoolers' (N=61) counting skills. The results show that domain-specific training in mathematical skills is more effective in improving early numerical performance than WM and counting training combined. Based on our results, preschool-aged children do not seem to benefit from short period group training of WM skills. However, because of several intervening factors, one should not conclude that young children's WM training is ineffectual. Instead, future studies should be conducted to further investigate the issue.