Assessing the Effectiveness of Differentiated Instructional Approaches for Teaching Math to Preschoolers with Different Levels of Executive Functions

Abstract

<jats:p>Previous studies have found that the development of mathematical abilities, along with the development of executive functions, predict students’ subsequent academic performance. The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of teaching the concept of area to preschool children with different levels of cognitive processes (CP) including executive functions and short-term memory. The experiment introduced the concept by using three different instructional approaches: traditional, contextual, and modeling. The sample included 100 children aged 6–7 years (M = 6.5 years), of whom 43% were boys. Each experimental condition included children with low, middle, and high levels of CP, as determined based on the NEPSY-II subtests. The children with low CP levels showed higher results in assimilating the notion of area after being taught using the contextual approach. In contrast, children with high CP levels showed a higher mastery of the concept of area following the use of the modeling approach. The results suggest the importance of CP development in building ways of mastering mathematical content. This contributes to choosing the optimal path of teaching mathematics for preschoolers, taking into account the development of their cognitive processes to improve their academic performance.</jats:p>

Enhancing Pre-service Mathematics Teachers' Technology Integrated Competency: Cooperative Initiation and Open Lesson Observation

“…Moreover, multiple studies have been conducted to determine the effect of cooperation on the knowledge development of pre-service mathematics teachers [18], [38], [39]. This study's results reaffirm the critical nature of teachers' cooperation according to the benefit of the cooperative initiation found in this study.…”

Effectiveness of Different Teaching Resources for Forming the Concept of Magnitude in Older Preschoolers with Varied Levels of Executive Functions

“…Recent studies show that the level of executive functions is signi cantly associated with children's success in mastering mathematical content (Clements et al, 2016;Veraksa et al, 2020); therefore, we used the level of development of executive functions as the criterion for dividing the children into groups. To measure students' EF, we used the NEPSY-II subtests (Korkman et al, 2007) for visual memory (Memory for Designs) and auditory working memory (Sentence Repetition), inhibition and switching (Naming and Inhibition, Statue), and also cognitive exibility ( e Dimensional Change Card Sort) and visual-spatial memory (Schematization).…”

“…Children with a low level of development of EFs will learn mathematical concepts and skills more successfully when using symbolic representations. is hypothesis is based on the fact that symbolization at an early age greatly facilitates perception of the conditions of tasks (Veraksa et al, 2014;Veraksa et al, 2020) and will be the most e ective means of their formation due to the symbolic nature of mathematical representations (Salmina, 1988).…”

“…ese symbolic representations established the problem situation, key points of orientation, and relationships for its solution, becoming reference points for mastering the concept of magnitude. In this case, the children did not need a model of the action; they themselves could construct the necessary action based on the symbolic image of the situation, since the symbol as a cognitive tool facilitates perception of the conditions of the task in a situation of uncertainty (Veraksa et al, 2014;Veraksa et al, 2020 ). And at the same time, it ensures the children's emotional involvement in the activity (Leont' ev, 2000;Veraksa et al, 2015) e programs we developed are identical in terms of the object-speci c actions performed by the children: measurement and selection with the help of conditional measures, but they di ered in the teaching resources used.…”

Supporting Young Children’s Development of Executive Function Through Early Mathematics

“…Furthermore, the association between EF and mathematics is stronger for preschoolers with lower mathematics competencies (Dong et al, 2020), perhaps because young children with the lowest mathematics competencies are learning almost all new mathematics material while more advanced preschoolers have some existing skills and strategies. Children with varying EF skills may benefit from different instructional approaches to mathematics (Veraksa et al, 2020), and children with varying levels of mathematics achievement may benefit differently from instructions that increase EF processing demands. For instance, children with low mathematics achievement may be more susceptible to the challenges imposed by working memory demands of some mathematics problems, compared to children with higher mathematics achievement (e.g., Herold et al, 2020).…”