A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Training counting skills and working memory in preschool




AuthorsKyttala M, Kanerva K, Kroesbergen E

PublisherWILEY-BLACKWELL

Publication year2015

JournalScandinavian Journal of Psychology

Journal name in sourceSCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY

Journal acronymSCAND J PSYCHOL

Volume56

Issue4

First page 363

Last page370

Number of pages8

ISSN0036-5564

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12221


Abstract

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.




Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 11:40