Visuospatial working memory and mathematical ability at different ages throughout primary school

Ven, Sanne H. G. van der; Maas, Han L. J. van der; Straatemeier, Marthe; Jansen, Brenda R.J.

doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2013.09.003

Cited by 72 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Regarding the predictive value of the Lion game, we found visual-spatial working memory scores to be significantly predictive of later math achievement, which is consistent with the previous literature (Raghubar, Barnes & Hecht 2010;Van der Ven et al 2013). Although we did not control for intelligence scores, previous research has shown that working memory is predictive of academic performance above and beyond intelligence scores (De Weerdt et al 2013;Swanson & BeebeFrankenberger, 2004).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…In addition, our results revealed that the predictive value of the Lion game for math performance declined with age. This finding is consistent with results from previous studies, which indicate that the predictive value of visual-spatial working memory for math achievement changes with age (Friso-van den Bos et al 2013;Imbo & Vandierendonck, 2007;McKenzie, Bull & Gray 2003;Raghubar et al 2010;Van der Ven et al 2013). It is often suggested that these results reflect the fact that younger children who learn and apply new mathematical skills rely more on visual-spatial working memory, whereas older children increasingly rely on verbal working memory after skills have been learned.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Although the concurrent and predictive validity was found to be good for one of these tasks, results for the second task were not acceptable in the school-aged sample. Recently, the predictive validity of an online adaptive computerized visual-spatial working memory task for math abilities was demonstrated in a large sample of primary school children, from Grades 1 to 6 (Van der Ven, Van der Maas, Straatemeier & Jansen 2013). In the present studies, we investigated the validity and reliability of the Lion game, a visual-spatial updating task developed for primary school children from Grades 1 to 6.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Poor WM leads to failures in remembering and keeping up with lesson instructions, choosing the right strategy for a math problem and keeping track of the sequence of steps in a complex strategy (Alloway, 2006). On the other hand, children who are better able to hold relevant information in mind and manipulate this information, have an advantage when it comes to using prior knowledge and procedures in mathematics (Van der Ven, Boom, Kroesbergen & Leseman 2012; Van der Ven, Kroesbergen, Boom and Leseman 2012b). WM can be assessed with a wide variety of measures, including behavioral rating scales filled in by teachers or parents (e.g., the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function [BRIEF; Gioia, Isquith, Guy & Kenworthy 2000] Alloway, Gathercole, Kirkwood & Elliott 2008).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Validity and reliability of an online visual–spatial working memory task for self-reliant administration in school-aged children

et al. 2014

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Working memory is an important predictor of academic performance, and of math performance in particular. Most working memory tasks depend on one-to-one administration by a testing assistant, which makes the use of such tasks in large-scale studies time-consuming and costly. Therefore, an online, self-reliant visual-spatial working memory task (the Lion game) was developed for primary school children (6-12 years of age). In two studies, the validity and reliability of the Lion game were investigated. The results from Study 1 (n = 442) indicated satisfactory six-week test-retest reliability, excellent internal consistency, and good concurrent and predictive validity. The results from Study 2 (n = 5,059) confirmed the results on the internal consistency and predictive validity of the Lion game. In addition, multilevel analysis revealed that classroom membership influenced Lion game scores. We concluded that the Lion game is a valid and reliable instrument for the online computerized and self-reliant measurement of visualspatial working memory (i.e., updating).

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

mentioning

confidence: 96%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Validity and reliability of an online visual–spatial working memory task for self-reliant administration in school-aged children

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“…Furthermore, it is expected that verbal working memory is more strongly related to math than visual spatial working memory, because of the age of the children (cf. Van de Weijer-Bergsma, Van der Ven et al, 2013).…”

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confidence: 99%

Creativity as predictor of mathematical abilities in fourth graders in addition to number sense and working memory

Kroesbergen¹,

Schoevers²

2017

J. Numer. Cogn.

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In this study, it was investigated how domain-specific (number sense) and domain-general (working memory, creativity) factors explain the variance in mathematical abilities in primary school children. A total of 166 children aged 8 to 10 years old participated. Several tests to measure math ability, mathematical creativity, number sense, verbal and visual spatial working memory and creativity were administered. Data were analyzed with a series of correlation and regression analyses. Number sense, working memory and creativity were all found to be important predictors of academic and creative mathematical ability. Furthermore, groups with math learning disabilities (MLD) and mathematical giftedness (MG) were compared to a typically developing (TD) group. The results show that the MLD group scored lower on number line estimation and visual spatial working memory than the TD group, while the MG group differed from the TD group on visual spatial working memory and creativity. It is concluded that creativity plays a significant role in mathematics, above working memory and number sense. Research on individual differences in the development of mathematical cognition has pointed to two main underlying cognitive factors: number sense and working memory (e.g., Fuchs, Geary, Compton, Fuchs, Hamlett, & Bryant, 2010;Geary, 2010). Number sense (NS) could be seen as the domain-specific precursor of mathematics. Working memory is a domain-general predictor, not only in mathematical development but also in other academic areas. Although several other cognitive factors have been related to math, such as processing speed (e.g., Peterson et al., 2017;Willcutt et al., 2013), or phonological skills (e.g., Barnes et al., 2014;Slot, Van Viersen, De Bree, & Kroesbergen, 2016), working memory and number sense together explain a substantial part of the variance in mathematics (e.g., 48-50% in Kroesbergen & Van Dijk, 2015; 24-28% in Toll, Kroesbergen, & Van Luit, 2016). These two factors are not only related to mathematics in typically developing (TD) children, but they have also repeatedly been found to explain differences between children with mathematical learning disabilities (MLD) and TD children (e.g., Geary, Hoard, Byrd-Craven, Nugent, & Numtee, 2007;Mazzocco, Feigenson, & Halberda, 2011;Mussolin, Mejias, & Noël, 2010;Piazza et al., 2010; Raghubar, jnc.psychopen.eu | 2363-8761 Barnes, & Hecht, 2010Schuchardt, Maehler, & Hasselhorn, 2008). However, from another body of research, on mathematically gifted (MG) children, another domain-general factor appears that may influence mathematics as well: Creativity (e.g., Leikin, Koichu, & Berman, 2009;Mann, 2006;Sriraman, 2005). However, studies investigating the role of creativity in mathematics have taken neither working memory nor number sense into account. The goal of the current study is to compare the role of working memory and number sense with that of creativity in the mathematical abilities of both TD children as well as children with MLD and MG children in fourth grade....

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Observation of Depictive Versus Tracing Gestures Selectively Aids Verbal Versus Visual–Spatial Learning in Primary School Children

Wermeskerken

Fijan

Eielts

et al. 2016

Applied Cognitive Psychology

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Previous research has established that gesture observation aids learning in children. The current study examined whether observation of gestures (i.e. depictive and tracing gestures) differentially affected verbal and visual-spatial retention when learning a route and its street names. Specifically, we explored whether children (n = 97) with lower visual and verbal workingmemory capacity benefited more from observing gestures as compared with children who score higher on these traits. To this end, 11-to 13-year-old children were presented with an instructional video of a route containing no gestures, depictive gestures, tracing gestures or both depictive and tracing gestures. Results indicated that the type of observed gesture affected performance: Observing tracing gestures or both tracing and depictive gestures increased performance on route retention, while observing depictive gestures or both depictive and tracing gestures increased performance on street name retention. These effects were not differentially affected by working-memory capacity.

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Visuospatial working memory and mathematical ability at different ages throughout primary school

Cited by 72 publications

References 36 publications

Validity and reliability of an online visual–spatial working memory task for self-reliant administration in school-aged children

Validity and reliability of an online visual–spatial working memory task for self-reliant administration in school-aged children

Creativity as predictor of mathematical abilities in fourth graders in addition to number sense and working memory

Observation of Depictive Versus Tracing Gestures Selectively Aids Verbal Versus Visual–Spatial Learning in Primary School Children

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