Sharpening, focusing, and developing: A study of change in nonsymbolic number comparison skills and math achievement in 1st grade
Sharpening, focusing, and developing: A study of change in nonsymbolic number comparison skills and math achievement in 1st grade
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锐化、聚焦和发展：一年级非符号数字比较技能和数学成绩变化的研究
DOI：
10.1111/desc.13194
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发表时间：
2022
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Clarke, Ben
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Wilkey, Eric D.;Shanley, Lina;Sabb, Fred;Ansari, Daniel;Cohen, Jason C.;Men, Virany;Heller, Nicole A.;Clarke, Ben
儿童辨别非符号数字的能力（例如，集合中的项目数量）是一个普遍研究的预测未来数学技能的指标。数字歧视在整个发展过程中有所改善，但推动这种改善的因素尚不清楚。竞争理论表明，这可能是由于锐化数字表示或提高注意数字和过滤非数字信息的能力。我们调查这个问题，通过研究儿童的性能变化（N= 65）的非符号数字比较任务，儿童决定两个点阵中的哪一个有更多的点，从中间到第一年级结束（平均年龄在时间1 = 6.85岁）。在这个任务中，点阵的视觉属性，如表面积，要么是全等的（越多的阵列具有越大的表面积），要么是不全等的。儿童在不一致试验中更依赖于执行功能，因此每个一致条件的改善提供了有关潜在认知机制的信息。我们发现，在这两种情况下，准确率的增加是相似的，这表明数字大小的锐化感，而不仅仅是提高了对数字任务维度的注意力。符号数字技能预测的变化一致的试验，但执行功能没有预测的变化，在这两种情况下。没有任何因素可以预测数学成绩的变化。总之，这些发现表明，非符号数字处理经历了与现有符号数字技能相关的发展，在此期间，发展似乎并没有推动数学的进步。儿童辨别非符号数字的能力在整个发展过程中得到提高。竞争理论表明，由于锐化幅度表征或注意力和抑制的变化，儿童的表现有所改善。目前的研究调查了一年级期间非符号数字比较表现的变化，以及符号数字技能，数学技能或执行功能是否可以预测变化。儿童的表现在视觉控制条件下（即，与数字一致或不一致）表明数字处理的整体锐化。符号数字技能预测非符号数字比较性能的变化。
Children's ability to discriminate nonsymbolic number (e.g., the number of items in a set) is a commonly studied predictor of later math skills. Number discrimination improves throughout development, but what drives this improvement is unclear. Competing theories suggest that it may be due to a sharpening numerical representation or an improved ability to pay attention to number and filter out non‐numerical information. We investigate this issue by studying change in children's performance (N= 65) on a nonsymbolic number comparison task, where children decide which of two dot arrays has more dots, from the middle to the end of 1st grade (mean age at time 1 = 6.85 years old). In this task, visual properties of the dot arrays such as surface area are either congruent (the more numerous array has more surface area) or incongruent. Children rely more on executive functions during incongruent trials, so improvements in each congruency condition provide information about the underlying cognitive mechanisms. We found that accuracy rates increased similarly for both conditions, indicating a sharpening sense of numerical magnitude, not simply improved attention to the numerical task dimension. Symbolic number skills predicted change in congruent trials, but executive function did not predict change in either condition. No factor predicted change in math achievement. Together, these findings suggest that nonsymbolic number processing undergoes development related to existing symbolic number skills, development that appears not to be driving math gains during this period.Children's ability to discriminate nonsymbolic number improves throughout development. Competing theories suggest improvement due to sharpening magnitude representations or changes in attention and inhibition.The current study investigates change in nonsymbolic number comparison performance during first grade and whether symbolic number skills, math skills, or executive function predict change.Children's performance increased across visual control conditions (i.e., congruent or incongruent with number) suggesting an overall sharpening of number processing.Symbolic number skills predicted change in nonsymbolic number comparison performance.