Mathematics Prediction on the Basis of executive Functions in Normal 4th Grade Children

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Faculty of Educational sciences and Psychology, Allameh Tabataba'i University

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was determination of the relation between executive functions components, comprising switching, inhibition, updating, phonological loop, central executive, visual-spatial sketch pad and mathematics performance in  the students.
Method: the research method was correlation. The Statistical society was 4038 girl students of fourth grade of elementary schools in Tehran. 367 students were chosen by multi-stage cluster sampling. In order to examine this relationship Stroop task, Wisconsin task, N-back task, Forward and Backward span tests, Corsi block, and mathematics test were utilized.
Results: Correlations tests and statistical regression analysis were employed to analyze obtained data. The correlation results indicate that all of executive functions are correlated with mathematics performance. That is, switching, inhibition, updating have a negative correlation on the mathematics, while phonological loop, central executive, visual-spatial sketch pad have a positive correlation. However, regression analyses suggest that functions contribute differently on mathematics performance. Inhibition was the strongest and visual-spatial sketch pad was the weakest predicting component in the mathematics performance. Updating, switching, phonological loop and central executive are the next important components.
Conclusion: The results support the concept that the executive function is an important predictor of children’s mathematics performance.

Keywords

References

اصفهانیان، نامیه؛ وفایی، ماریا و عشایری، حسن. (1387). «حافظهکاری و مهارت‌های ریاضی کودکان بهنجار، نیمرخی از توانایی‌های ریاضی و ارتباط آنها با "یادآوری شمارش" در پسران سال چهارم ابتدایی». فصلنامه تعلیم و تربیت،2(98)، 125-101.
امین­زاده، انوشه؛ حسن آبادی، حمیدرضا. (1391). «مهارت‌های بنیادی در کودکان دارای ناتوانی ریاضی و ناتوانای توام ریاضیات و خواندن» روان شناسی تحولی، 13، 246-235.
بشرپور، سجاد. (1385). بررسی سرعت پردازش اطلاعات، پردازش خودکار و کنترل‌شده و تأثیر داروهای ضد افسردگی بر این سه متغیر در اختلال افسردگی. پایان‌نامه کارشناسی‌ارشد روان‌شناسی عمومی، دانشگاه محقق اردبیلی.
تهرانی دوست، مهدی؛ راد گودرزی، رضا؛ سپاسی آشتیانی، میترا و علاقبند راد، جواد. (1382). «نقایص کارکردهای اجرایی در کودکان مبتلا به اختلال نارسایی توجه- بیش فعالی». فصلنامه علوم شناختی، 5(1)، 9-1.
دالوند، میر حسین و الهی، طاهره. (1391). «عملکرد حافظه کاری در کودکان مبتلا به ناتوانی یادگیری ریاضی». مجله علوم رفتاری، 6(3)، 220-213.
شهیم، سیما. (1371). «هنجاریابی آزمون هوش وکسلر کودکان در شیراز». مجله علوم اجتماعی و انسانی دانشگاه شیراز، 13(14)، 153-122.
نادری، نسرین. (1373). بررسی پردازش اطلاعات و برخی از عملکردهای نوروپسیکولوژی مبتلایان به اختلال وسواسی فکری –عملی. پایان نامه کارشناسی‌ارشد، دانشگاه انیستیتوی روان پزشکی تهران.
Alloway, T. P., Gathercole, S. E. (2006). “How does working memory work in the classroom?”, Educational Research and Reviews, 1, 134-139
Andersson, U., Lyxell, B. (2007). “Working Memory Deficit in Children with Mathematical Difficulties: A General or Specific Deficit?”, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 96, 197-228.
Baddeley, A. D. & Hitch, G. J. (1974). Working memory. In G. H. Bower (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation: advances in research and theory. New York: AcademicPress.
Berch, D. B., Krikorian, R., Huha, E. M. (1998). “The corsi block-tapping task: Methodological and theoretical considerations”. Brain and Cognition, 38, 317-338.
Blair, C., Razza, R. P. (2007). “Relating effortful control, executive function, and false belief understanding to emerging math and literacy ability in kindergarten”. Child Development, 78, 647-663.
Bull, R., Lee, K. (2014). “Executive functioning and mathematics achievement”. Child Development Perspectives, 8(1), 36-41.
Bull, R., Scerif, G. (2001). “Executive functioning as a predictor of children’s mathematics ability: inhibition, switching, and working memory”. Develpmental Neuropsychology, 19(3), 273-293.
Bull, R., Espy, K. A., Wiebe, S. A. (2008). “Short-term memory, working memory, and executive functioning in preschoolers: Longitudinal predictors of mathematical achievement at age 7 years”. Developmental Neuropsychology, 33, 205-228.
Casty, B. J., Durston, S., Fossella, J. A. (2001). “Evidences for a mechanistic model of Cognitive control”. Journal of Clin Neuroscience Research, 4(3), 267-282.
Espy, K. A., McDiarmid, M. M., Cwik, M. F., Stalets, M. M., Hamby, A., Senn, T. E. (2004). “The Contribution of Executive Functions to Emergent Mathematic Skills in Preschool Children”. Developmental Neuropsychology, 26, 465-486.
Gathercole, S. E., Alloway, T. P. (2008). Working memory and learning: A practical guide. London: Sage.
Gathercole, S.E., Pickering, S.J., Ambridge B., Wearing. H. (2004).” The Structure of Working Memory from 4 to 15 Years of Age”, Developmental Psychology, 40, 177-190.
Geary, D. C. (2004). “Mathematics and learning disabilities”. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37, 4-15. 
Gonzales, P., Williams, T., Jocelyn, L., Roey, S., Kastberg, D., Brenwald, S. (2008). Highlights From TIMSS 2007: Mathematics and Science Achievement of U.S. Fourth- and Eighth-Grade Students in an International Context (NCES 2009–001 Revised). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC
Gilmore, C., Keeble, S., Richardson, S., Cragg, L. (2015). “The role of cognitive inhibition in different components of arithmetic”. ZDM Mathematics Education, 47, 771-782.
Holmes, J., Adams, J.W. (2006). “Working memory and children's mathematical skills: Implications for mathematical development and mathematics curricula”. Educational Psychology, 26(3), 339-366.
Iglesias Sarmiento, V., Carriedo López, N. E., Rodríguez Rodríguez, J. L. (2015) “Updating executive function and performance in reading comprehension and problem solving”. Anales de Psicología, 31(1), 298-309.
Kane, M. J., Conway, A. R., Miura, T. K., Colflesh, G. J. (2007). “Working memory, attention control, and the N-back task: A question of construct validity”. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition; 33(3), 615-622.
Lee, K., Ng, E. L., Ng, S. F. (2009). “The contributions of working memory and executive functioning to problem representation and solution generation in algebraic word problems”. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 373-387.
Lerner, J. (1997). Learning disabilities. Boston, MA: Houghton Mufflin Company.
Lezak, M. D., Howieson, D. B., Loring, D. W. (2004). Basic Concepts In Neuropsychological Assessment (Fourth Edition), New York: Oxford University Press.
Mayes, S. D., Calhoun, S. L., Bixler, E. O., Zimmerman, D. N. (2009). “IQ and neuropsychological predictors of academic achievement”. Learning and Individual Differences, 19, 238-241.
Meyer, M., Salimpoor, V. N., Wu, S., Geary, D., Menon, V. (2010). “Differential Contribution of Specific Working Memory Components to Mathematical Achievement in 2nd and 3rd Graders”. Journal of Learning and Individual Differences, 20(2), 101-109.
Meltzer, L., Reddy, R., Pollica, L., Roditi, B. (2004). “Academic success in students with learning disabilities: The roles of self-understanding, strategy use, and effort”. Thalamus, 22(1), 16-32.
Miller, M.R., Müller, U., Giesbrecht, G.F., Carpendale, J. I. M, Kerns, K. A. (2013). “The contribution of executive function and social understanding to preschoolers’ letter and math skills”. Cognitive Development, 28, 331-349.
Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., Wager, T. D. (2000). “The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex frontal lobe tasks: Alatent variable analysis”. Cognitive Psychology, 41,49-100.
Nigg, J.T., Blaskey, L., Huang-Pollock, C., Rappley, M.D. (2002). “Neuropsychological executive functions and DSM-IV ADHD subtypes”. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 59-66.
Pajares, F., Graham, L. (1999). “SE, motivation constructs, and mathematics performance of entering middle school students”. Contemporary Educational Psychology,24,124-139.
Raghubar, K .P., Barnes, M.A., Hecht, S. A. (2010). “Working memory and mathematics: A review of developmental, individual difference, and cognitive approaches”. Learning and Individual Differences, 20, 110-122.
Silver, C. H., Pennett, D. L., Black, J. L., Fair, G. W., Balise, R. R. (1999). “Stability of arithmetic disability subtypes”. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 32(2), 108-119.
Steinmayr, R. & Spinath, B. (2009). “The importance of motivation as a predictor of school achievement”. Learning and Individual Differences, 19(1), 80-90.
Van der Ven, S. H. G. (2011). The structure of executive functions and relations with early math learning. PhD dissertation of Utrecht University.
Van der Sluis, S., De Jong, P. F., Van der Leij, A. (2004). “Inhibition and shifting in children with learning deficits in arithmetic and reading”. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 87, 239-266.
Van der Ven, S. H. G., Kroesbergen, E. H., Boom, J., Leseman, P. P. M. (2012). “The development of executive functions and early mathematics. A dynamic relationship”. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 100-119.
Winegar, K. L. (2013). Inhibition performance in children with math disabilities. UC Riverside: Education.
Zheng, X. H., Swanson, H. L., Marcoulides, G. A. (2011). “Working memory components as predictors of children’s mathematical word problem solving”. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 110, 481-498.
Zhou, X., Chen, C., Zang, Y., Dong, Q., Chen, C., Qiao, S. et al. (2007). “Dissociated brain organization for single-digit addition and multiplication”. NeuroImage, 35, 871-880.
Biquarterly Journal of Cognitive Strategies in Learning
Volume 7, Issue 12
August 2019
Pages 169-187

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics