J.E.H. van Luit

Individual Differences in Early Numeracy: The Role of Executive Functions and Subitizing.

In this study, the question was raised how basic cognitive processes are related to math abilities and how it can be best determined which children are at risk for developing those disabilities. The role of four distinct basic processes in the development of early mathematics was investigated: executive functions, fluid intelligence, subitizing, and language. The counting skills of 115 five- and six-year-old children were also assessed. The results showed that both executive functions and number sense were important factors in childrens development of counting skills. Both executive functions and subitizing explained a significant part of variance in childrens counting skills. IQ scores could not add further explanation to the variance in early math. The implications of this study are that it seems promising to use the concept of executive functions for the early identification of children at risk for math learning difficulties.

Effectiveness of a Computerised Working Memory Training in Adolescents with Mild to Borderline Intellectual Disabilities

BACKGROUND The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a computerised working memory (WM) training on memory, response inhibition, fluid intelligence, scholastic abilities and the recall of stories in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities attending special education. METHOD A total of 95 adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities were randomly assigned to either a training adaptive to each childs progress in WM, a non-adaptive WM training, or to a control group. RESULTS Verbal short-term memory (STM) improved significantly from pre- to post-testing in the group who received the adaptive training compared with the control group. The beneficial effect on verbal STM was maintained at follow-up and other effects became clear at that time as well. Both the adaptive and non-adaptive WM training led to higher scores at follow-up than at post-intervention on visual STM, arithmetic and story recall compared with the control condition. In addition, the non-adaptive training group showed a significant increase in visuo-spatial WM capacity. CONCLUSION The current study provides the first demonstration that WM can be effectively trained in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities.

The Construction of the Utrecht Early Mathematical Competence Scales.

The purpose of the research presented was to construct the Utrecht Early Mathematical Competence Scales to assess the developmental level of early mathematical competence in children ages 4 to 7 years. Eight mathematically different domains were distinguished, and an initial pool of 120 items was developed. The items were administered to 823 boys and girls in the 4-to 7-year age groups. Results demonstrate that the generalized one-parameter logistic model could explain the responses to 80 items. Two scales (A and B) were derived, each consisting of 40 items. In this article, Form A is emphasized. To test for group differences, a 6 (half-year age groups) ´ 2 (gender) factorial analysis of variance was used. A one-way analysis of variance with grade as the independent variable was used to test for grade differences. Participants within each age and grade group differed considerably in developmental level of early mathematical competence.

Longitudinal development of number line estimation and mathematics performance in primary school children

Childrens ability to relate number to a continuous quantity abstraction visualized as a number line is widely accepted to be predictive of mathematics achievement. However, a debate has emerged with respect to how childrens placements are distributed on this number line across development. In the current study, different models were applied to childrens longitudinal number placement data to get more insight into the development of number line representations in kindergarten and early primary school years. In addition, longitudinal developmental relations between number line placements and mathematical achievement, measured with a national test of mathematics, were investigated using cross-lagged panel modeling. A group of 442 children participated in a 3-year longitudinal study (ages 5-8 years) in which they completed a number-to-position task every 6 months. Individual number line placements were fitted to various models, of which a one-anchor power model provided the best fit for many of the placements at a younger age (5 or 6 years) and a two-anchor power model provided better fit for many of the children at an older age (7 or 8 years). The number of children who made linear placements also grew with age. Cross-lagged panel analyses indicated that the best fit was provided with a model in which number line acuity and mathematics performance were mutually predictive of each other rather than models in which one ability predicted the other in a non-reciprocal way. This indicates that number line acuity should not be seen as a predictor of math but that both skills influence each other during the developmental process.

Everyday Memory and Working Memory in Adolescents With Mild Intellectual Disability

Everyday memory and its relationship to working memory was investigated in adolescents with mild intellectual disability and compared to typically developing adolescents of the same age (CA) and younger children matched on mental age (MA). Results showed a delay on almost all memory measures for the adolescents with mild intellectual disability compared to the CA control adolescents. Compared to the MA control children, the adolescents with mild intellectual disability performed less well on a general everyday memory index. Only some significant associations were found between everyday memory and working memory for the mild intellectual disability group. These findings were interpreted to suggest that adolescents with mild intellectual disability have difficulty in making optimal use of their working memory when new or complex situations tax their abilities.

Working memory development in children with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND The purpose of the current cross-sectional study was to examine the developmental progression in working memory (WM) between the ages of 9 and 16 years in a large sample of children with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (MBID). Baddeleys influential WM model was used as a theoretical framework. Furthermore, the relations between WM on the one hand, and scholastic skills (arithmetic and reading) on the other were examined. METHOD One hundred and ninety-seven children with MBID between 9 and 16 years old participated in this study. All children completed several tests measuring short-term memory, WM, inhibition, arithmetic and single word reading. RESULTS WM, visuospatial short-term memory and inhibition continued to develop until around age 15 years. However verbal short-term memory showed no further developmental increases after the age of 10 years. Verbal short-term memory was associated with single word reading, whereas inhibition was associated with arithmetic. DISCUSSION The finding that verbal short-term memory ceases to develop beyond the age of 10 years in children with MBID contrasts with results of studies involving typically developing children, where verbal short-term memory develops until around age 15 years. This relative early developmental plateau might explain why verbal short-term memory is consistently considered weak in children with MBID.

Effectiveness of a computerized working memory training in children with mild intellectual disabilities

BACKGROUND The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a computerised working memory (WM) training on memory, response inhibition, fluid intelligence, scholastic abilities and the recall of stories in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities attending special education. METHOD A total of 95 adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities were randomly assigned to either a training adaptive to each childs progress in WM, a non-adaptive WM training, or to a control group. RESULTS Verbal short-term memory (STM) improved significantly from pre- to post-testing in the group who received the adaptive training compared with the control group. The beneficial effect on verbal STM was maintained at follow-up and other effects became clear at that time as well. Both the adaptive and non-adaptive WM training led to higher scores at follow-up than at post-intervention on visual STM, arithmetic and story recall compared with the control condition. In addition, the non-adaptive training group showed a significant increase in visuo-spatial WM capacity. CONCLUSION The current study provides the first demonstration that WM can be effectively trained in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities.

Counting strategies among kindergartners with special educational needs: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT The purpose of the experiment reported was to investigate the effect of a mathematics intervention on counting strategies and levels of performance of young children with special educational needs. For six months, 32 children participated in the intervention. They were compared with 26 children in a non‐intervention control group. Observation of four types of tasks took place at two, four and six months after the intervention had begun. Results suggested that the particular instructional programme used with the experimental group was no better than the teaching programmes used by teachers in the control group. These results may, however, be explained by ceiling effects. Implications for future research are discussed.

Effectiveness of a computerised working memory training in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities: Working memory training in M-BID

BACKGROUND The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a computerised working memory (WM) training on memory, response inhibition, fluid intelligence, scholastic abilities and the recall of stories in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities attending special education. METHOD A total of 95 adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities were randomly assigned to either a training adaptive to each childs progress in WM, a non-adaptive WM training, or to a control group. RESULTS Verbal short-term memory (STM) improved significantly from pre- to post-testing in the group who received the adaptive training compared with the control group. The beneficial effect on verbal STM was maintained at follow-up and other effects became clear at that time as well. Both the adaptive and non-adaptive WM training led to higher scores at follow-up than at post-intervention on visual STM, arithmetic and story recall compared with the control condition. In addition, the non-adaptive training group showed a significant increase in visuo-spatial WM capacity. CONCLUSION The current study provides the first demonstration that WM can be effectively trained in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities.

Counting and number line trainings in kindergarten: Effects on arithmetic performance and number sense

Children’s early numerical capacities form the building blocks for later arithmetic proficiency. Linear number placements and counting skills are indicative of mapping, as an important precursor to arithmetic skills, and have been suggested to be of vital importance to arithmetic development. The current study investigated whether fostering mapping skills is more efficient through a counting or a number line training program. Effects of both programs were compared through a quasi-experimental design, and moderation effects of age and socio-economic status (SES) were investigated. Ninety kindergartners were divided into three conditions: a counting, a number line, and a control condition. Pretests and posttests included an arithmetic (addition) task and a battery of number sense tasks (comparison, number lines, and counting). Results showed significantly greater gains in arithmetic, counting, and symbolic number lines in the counting training group than in the control group. The number line training group did not make significantly greater gains than the control group. Training gains were moderated by age, but not SES. We concluded that counting training improved numerical capacities effectively, whereas no such improvements could be found for the number line training. This suggests that only a counting approach is effective for fostering number sense and early arithmetic skills in kindergarten. Future research should elaborate on the parameters of training programs and the consequences of variation in these parameters.