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The contributions of working memory domains and processes to early mathematical knowledge between preschool and first grade

Working Memory (WM) plays a crucial role in supporting children’s mathematical learning. However, there is no consensus on the relative contributions of different WM domains (i.e., verbal, visuo-spatial, and numerical–verbal) and processes (i.e., low-control and high-control) to mathematical perform...

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Autores principales: De Vita, Chiara, Costa, Hiwet Mariam, Tomasetto, Carlo, Passolunghi, Maria Chiara
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8885495/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33677704
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00426-021-01496-4
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author De Vita, Chiara
Costa, Hiwet Mariam
Tomasetto, Carlo
Passolunghi, Maria Chiara
author_facet De Vita, Chiara
Costa, Hiwet Mariam
Tomasetto, Carlo
Passolunghi, Maria Chiara
author_sort De Vita, Chiara
collection PubMed
description Working Memory (WM) plays a crucial role in supporting children’s mathematical learning. However, there is no consensus on the relative contributions of different WM domains (i.e., verbal, visuo-spatial, and numerical–verbal) and processes (i.e., low-control and high-control) to mathematical performance, specifically before and after the onset of formal education. This cross-sectional study examined the relations between WM domains and processes and early mathematical knowledge, comparing a group of children in the second year of preschool (N = 66) to a group of first graders (N = 110). Results of multigroup path analysis showed that whereas visuo-spatial low-control WM significantly predicted early mathematical knowledge only among preschoolers, verbal low-control WM was a significant predictor only among first graders. Instead, the contribution of visuo-spatial high-control WM emerged as significant for both age groups, as well as that of numerical–verbal WM, although the latter to a greater extent among preschoolers. These findings provide new insights into the WM domains and processes most involved in early mathematical knowledge at different developmental stages, with potential implications for the implementation of age-appropriate training interventions targeting specific WM skills before and after the onset of formal education.
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spelling pubmed-88854952022-03-02 The contributions of working memory domains and processes to early mathematical knowledge between preschool and first grade De Vita, Chiara Costa, Hiwet Mariam Tomasetto, Carlo Passolunghi, Maria Chiara Psychol Res Original Article Working Memory (WM) plays a crucial role in supporting children’s mathematical learning. However, there is no consensus on the relative contributions of different WM domains (i.e., verbal, visuo-spatial, and numerical–verbal) and processes (i.e., low-control and high-control) to mathematical performance, specifically before and after the onset of formal education. This cross-sectional study examined the relations between WM domains and processes and early mathematical knowledge, comparing a group of children in the second year of preschool (N = 66) to a group of first graders (N = 110). Results of multigroup path analysis showed that whereas visuo-spatial low-control WM significantly predicted early mathematical knowledge only among preschoolers, verbal low-control WM was a significant predictor only among first graders. Instead, the contribution of visuo-spatial high-control WM emerged as significant for both age groups, as well as that of numerical–verbal WM, although the latter to a greater extent among preschoolers. These findings provide new insights into the WM domains and processes most involved in early mathematical knowledge at different developmental stages, with potential implications for the implementation of age-appropriate training interventions targeting specific WM skills before and after the onset of formal education. Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2021-03-07 2022 /pmc/articles/PMC8885495/ /pubmed/33677704 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00426-021-01496-4 Text en © The Author(s) 2021 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) .
spellingShingle Original Article
De Vita, Chiara
Costa, Hiwet Mariam
Tomasetto, Carlo
Passolunghi, Maria Chiara
The contributions of working memory domains and processes to early mathematical knowledge between preschool and first grade
title The contributions of working memory domains and processes to early mathematical knowledge between preschool and first grade
title_full The contributions of working memory domains and processes to early mathematical knowledge between preschool and first grade
title_fullStr The contributions of working memory domains and processes to early mathematical knowledge between preschool and first grade
title_full_unstemmed The contributions of working memory domains and processes to early mathematical knowledge between preschool and first grade
title_short The contributions of working memory domains and processes to early mathematical knowledge between preschool and first grade
title_sort contributions of working memory domains and processes to early mathematical knowledge between preschool and first grade
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8885495/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33677704
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00426-021-01496-4
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