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The association between working memory and mathematical problem solving: A three-level meta-analysis

Although working memory (WM) is an important factor in mathematical problem solving (MPS), it remains unclear how well WM relates to MPS. Thus, we aimed to determine this relationship by using a meta-analysis. We searched electronic databases for studies published between 2000 and 2020 and establish...

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Autores principales: Ji, Zhongtian, Guo, Kan
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10086603/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37057173
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1091126
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author Ji, Zhongtian
Guo, Kan
author_facet Ji, Zhongtian
Guo, Kan
author_sort Ji, Zhongtian
collection PubMed
description Although working memory (WM) is an important factor in mathematical problem solving (MPS), it remains unclear how well WM relates to MPS. Thus, we aimed to determine this relationship by using a meta-analysis. We searched electronic databases for studies published between 2000 and 2020 and established operational criteria. We conducted Egger’s regression tests and created funnel plots to test for publication bias. Finally, a three-level meta-analytic model analysis of data from 130 studies involving 43,938 participants and 1,355 effect sizes revealed a moderate relationship between WM and MPS (r = 0.280, 95% CI = [0.263, 0.314]). Moreover, moderator analyses showed that: (1) dressed-up word problems were more strongly tied to WM than to intra-mathematical problems; (2) the central executive function showed the strongest relation with MPS, whereas the phonological loop had the weakest; (3) gender ratio had significant moderating effects; and (4) some of the above-mentioned significant moderating effects were unique after controlling for other factors. Implications for research and practice were also discussed.
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spelling pubmed-100866032023-04-12 The association between working memory and mathematical problem solving: A three-level meta-analysis Ji, Zhongtian Guo, Kan Front Psychol Psychology Although working memory (WM) is an important factor in mathematical problem solving (MPS), it remains unclear how well WM relates to MPS. Thus, we aimed to determine this relationship by using a meta-analysis. We searched electronic databases for studies published between 2000 and 2020 and established operational criteria. We conducted Egger’s regression tests and created funnel plots to test for publication bias. Finally, a three-level meta-analytic model analysis of data from 130 studies involving 43,938 participants and 1,355 effect sizes revealed a moderate relationship between WM and MPS (r = 0.280, 95% CI = [0.263, 0.314]). Moreover, moderator analyses showed that: (1) dressed-up word problems were more strongly tied to WM than to intra-mathematical problems; (2) the central executive function showed the strongest relation with MPS, whereas the phonological loop had the weakest; (3) gender ratio had significant moderating effects; and (4) some of the above-mentioned significant moderating effects were unique after controlling for other factors. Implications for research and practice were also discussed. Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-03-28 /pmc/articles/PMC10086603/ /pubmed/37057173 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1091126 Text en Copyright © 2023 Ji and Guo. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
Ji, Zhongtian
Guo, Kan
The association between working memory and mathematical problem solving: A three-level meta-analysis
title The association between working memory and mathematical problem solving: A three-level meta-analysis
title_full The association between working memory and mathematical problem solving: A three-level meta-analysis
title_fullStr The association between working memory and mathematical problem solving: A three-level meta-analysis
title_full_unstemmed The association between working memory and mathematical problem solving: A three-level meta-analysis
title_short The association between working memory and mathematical problem solving: A three-level meta-analysis
title_sort association between working memory and mathematical problem solving: a three-level meta-analysis
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10086603/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37057173
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1091126
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