Spatial Skills Associated With Block-Building Complexity in Preschoolers

Zhang, Xiaoxia; Chen, Chuansheng; Yang, Tao; Xu, Xilong

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.563493

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…For block construction specifically, many of the previously described studies did not report gender comparisons. For those that do report gender comparisons, neither Verdine et al (2014c) nor Zhang et al (2020) found gender differences in 3-or 4-year-olds' spatial construction skills, respectively. However, a gender difference in construction, favouring males, has been found in older children, e.g., adolescents (Casey et al 2012).…”

Section: Block Construction and Gendermentioning

confidence: 77%

Building numeracy skills: Associations between DUPLO® block construction and numeracy in early childhood

Gilligan-Lee¹,

Fink²,

Jerrom³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Research shows that children’s block construction skills are positively associated with their concurrent and later mathematics performance (e.g., Nath & Szucs, 2014; Verdine et al., 2014). Furthermore, there is evidence that block construction training is particularly beneficial for improving early mathematics skills in children from low-Socio Economic Status (SES) groups who are known to have lower maths performance than their peers (Bower et al. 2020a; Dickerson & Popli, 2016). This study investigates the association between block construction and mathematics in children who are approaching the age of formal education in the UK (4 years). It also investigates whether the relation between block construction and mathematics differs between children from more compared to less affluent families. Participants included 116 children (M = 3 years 11 months, SD = 3 months). All participants completed numeracy, block construction, and receptive vocabulary tasks. Socio-economic status and demographic information (child age, gender, ethnicity) were also obtained from parents. Regression analysis showed block construction accuracy explained 5.3% of the variation in numeracy after controlling for covariates. When separated by SES group, for children from less affluent families, block construction explained 14.9% of the variation in numeracy after covariates. For children from more affluent families, block construction explained no additional variation in numeracy. These findings highlight one possible intervention target for promoting maths-readiness in children of this age. More specifically, interventions involving block construction skills may help to reduce attainment gaps in UK children’s mathematics achievement.

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Section: Block Construction and Gendermentioning

confidence: 77%

Building numeracy skills: Associations between DUPLO® block construction and numeracy in early childhood

Gilligan-Lee¹,

Fink²,

Jerrom³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For block construction specifically, many of the previously described studies did not report gender comparisons. For those that do report gender comparisons, neither Verdine et al ( 2014c ) nor Zhang et al ( 2020 ) found gender differences in 3- or 4-year-olds’ spatial construction skills, respectively. However, a gender difference in construction, favouring males, has been found in older children, e.g., adolescents ( Casey et al 2012 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Building Numeracy Skills: Associations between DUPLO® Block Construction and Numeracy in Early Childhood

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research shows that children’s block construction skills are positively associated with their concurrent and later mathematics performance. Furthermore, there is evidence that block construction training is particularly beneficial for improving early mathematics skills in children from low-Socio Economic Status (SES) groups who are known to have lower maths performance than their peers. The current study investigates (a) the association between block construction and mathematics in children just before the start of formal schooling (4 years-of-age in the UK) and (b) whether the association between block construction and mathematics differs between children from more compared to less affluent families. Participants in this study included 116 children (M = 3 years 11 months, SD = 3 months) who all completed numeracy, block construction, and receptive vocabulary tasks. Socio-economic status and demographic information (child age, gender, ethnicity) were also obtained from parents. Findings show a strong positive association between block construction and early numeracy skills. Block construction skills explained approximately 5% of the variation in numeracy, even after controlling for age in months, household income, and child receptive vocabulary. When separated by SES group, for children from less affluent families, block construction explained a significant amount of variability (14.5%) in numeracy performance after covariates. For children from more affluent families, block construction did not explain a significant amount of variation in numeracy. These findings suggest that, interventions involving block construction skills may help to reduce SES-based attainment gaps in UK children’s mathematics achievement.

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“…Shape knowledge is one of the first aspects of geometry that children develop (Sarama & Clements, 2009) and is an important precursor for later mathematics achievement (Bodovski & Farkas, 2007). Zhang et al (2020) measured the block‐building ability of 3‐ to 5‐year‐olds, as well as their ability to name, recognize and compose 2‐D shapes. Increased block‐building complexity was associated with improved shape naming, recognition, and composition; children who built more complex structures when asked to build a house using differently shaped blocks also had better shape knowledge.…”

Section: Lego and Mathematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations and indirect effects between LEGO® construction and mathematics performance

et al. 2023

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There is a known association between LEGO® construction ability and mathematics achievement, yet the mechanisms which drive this association are largely unknown. This study investigated the spatial mechanisms underlying this association, and whether this differs for concrete versus digital construction. Between January 2020 and July 2021, children aged 7–9 years (N = 358, 189 female, ethnicity not recorded) completed spatial and mathematics tasks, and either a concrete or digital Lego construction task. Mediation analyses examining direct and indirect pathways (through spatial skills) between Lego construction ability and mathematics explained 8.4% to 26.6% of variance in mathematics scores. Exploratory moderated mediation analyses revealed that only the indirect path through mental rotation differed between Lego conditions. Findings are discussed in relation to theories of spatial‐numerical associations and the potential of Lego training for mathematics improvement.

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Spatial Skills Associated With Block-Building Complexity in Preschoolers

Cited by 7 publications

References 44 publications

Building numeracy skills: Associations between DUPLO® block construction and numeracy in early childhood

Building numeracy skills: Associations between DUPLO® block construction and numeracy in early childhood

Building Numeracy Skills: Associations between DUPLO® Block Construction and Numeracy in Early Childhood

Associations and indirect effects between LEGO® construction and mathematics performance

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