CAREER: Spatial Foundations of Symbolic Numeracy Skills in Young Children

职业：幼儿符号计算技能的空间基础

• 批准号: 1452000
• 负责人: Elizabeth Gunderson
• 金额: $ 103.76万
• 依托单位: Temple University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-02-15 至 2021-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1452000&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Spatial; Foundations; Symbolic; Numeracy

Spatial skills strongly predict STEM achievement in children and adults. This project, led by a researcher at Temple University, aims to understand the relationship between spatial and numerical skills at a more fine-grained level, among pre-k through 4th graders, with the ultimate goal of harnessing this relationship to improve math achievement. This project (1) investigates how, when, and why spatial skills influence numerical skills; (2) examines how spatial and numerical skills develop among children at risk for under-representation in STEM fields, namely girls and students from low-socioeconomic-status (SES) backgrounds; and (3) establishes causal relationships between spatial and numerical skills.To accomplish goals (1) and (2), Study 1 uses a two-year longitudinal design, with students from a range of SES backgrounds starting in pre-k, 1st-, and 3rd-grades. Researchers assesses students twice a year, measuring multiple aspects of spatial skills (e.g., mental rotation, proportional reasoning, spatial working memory), numerical skills (e.g., cardinality, arithmetic, fraction concepts), and number line knowledge, a "bridge skill' that integrates space and number. Reading achievement is assessed as a control measure. The researchers hypothesize that initial spatial skills will predict growth over time in numerical skills; that spatial skills will be most important for numerical skills when new number concepts are first introduced; and that number line knowledge will help to explain the relations between spatial and numerical skills. To accomplish goal (3), Studies 2-4 use randomized experiments to improve spatial skills and number line knowledge, testing the hypothesis that improving these skills leads to improvement in numerical skills. The project also looks at potential gender differences and individual differences in spatials skills that might predict differences in numerical skills. The project integrates the research and educational activities both through university teaching and mentoring as well as through the establishment of work circles with practicing teachers. This project identifies specific skills and training techniques that increase children's numeracy skills, which may be especially important for girls and children from low-SES families. This foundational research builds a strong basis for the development of curricular interventions aimed at improving math learning and STEM representation in at-risk children.

空间技能强烈预测儿童和成人的STEM成就。该项目由坦普尔大学的一名研究人员领导，旨在更细粒度地了解学前班到四年级学生之间的空间和数字技能之间的关系，最终目标是利用这种关系来提高数学成绩。该项目（1）调查空间技能如何、何时以及为什么影响数字技能;（2）调查STEM领域中存在代表性不足风险的儿童，即女孩和社会经济地位低的学生，空间和数字技能如何发展;为了实现目标（1）和（2），研究1采用了为期两年的纵向设计，从一系列SES背景的学生开始在学前班，第一，和第三年级。研究人员每年对学生进行两次评估，测量空间技能的多个方面（例如，心理旋转、比例推理、空间工作记忆），数字技能（例如，基数，算术，分数概念），以及数线知识，一种整合空间和数字的“桥梁技能”。阅读成绩作为控制措施进行评估。研究人员假设，最初的空间技能将预测随着时间的推移，在数字技能的增长;空间技能将是最重要的数字技能时，新的数字概念首次引入;和数字线知识将有助于解释空间和数字技能之间的关系。为了实现目标（3），研究2-4使用随机实验来提高空间技能和数字线知识，检验提高这些技能导致数字技能提高的假设。该项目还研究了空间技能中潜在的性别差异和个体差异，这些差异可能预测数字技能的差异。该项目通过大学教学和辅导以及通过与实习教师建立工作圈，将研究和教育活动结合起来。该项目确定了提高儿童计算能力的具体技能和培训技巧，这对女孩和来自社会经济地位低家庭的儿童尤为重要。这项基础研究为制定课程干预措施奠定了坚实的基础，旨在改善高危儿童的数学学习和STEM表现。

项目成果

Fathers’ and mothers’ praise and spatial language during play with first graders: Patterns of interaction and relations to math achievement.

父亲和母亲在与一年级学生玩耍时的赞美和空间语言：互动模式以及与数学成绩的关系。

• DOI: 10.1037/dev0001410
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Developmental Psychology
• 影响因子: 4
• 作者: Ren, Kexin;Wang, Yiqiao;Weinraub, Marsha;Newcombe, Nora S.;Gunderson, Elizabeth A.
• 通讯作者: Gunderson, Elizabeth A.