Collaborative Research: Domain-General and Domain-Specific Training to Improve Children's Mathematics

该项目是马里兰州大学和加州大学欧文分校的研究人员合作开展的，将测试培训活动对提高低收入家庭学生数学成绩的好处，这些学生使用新开发的平板电脑游戏。来自不同社会经济背景的儿童之间在数学能力方面的差距在儿童进入小学之前就已经存在，并且在整个教育过程中逐渐扩大。重要的是，数学知识的这些早期差异可以预测数学学习和成绩的增长率，直到高中。研究人员将检查儿童数字知识的改善以及工作记忆的改善。该项目由EHR核心研究计划资助，旨在支持促进STEM学习研究文献的基础研究。该项目旨在研究旨在提高儿童数字知识（特定领域技能）或工作记忆（一般领域技能）的干预措施如何促进他们的数学成绩。干预措施将包括在几次会议期间在平板电脑上玩类似游戏的活动。主要重点将是来自低收入背景的儿童，他们最有可能因为早期数学技能和工作记忆能力的缺陷而学业成绩不佳。具体而言，该项目将1）检查低收入儿童的概念和程序数字知识的改善（领域特定技能）以及工作记忆和执行控制的改善（领域一般技能），2）检查组合的领域特定和领域一般方法的附加效应，3）通过在培训完成后几个月对参与者进行跟踪测试来检查任何效果的持久性，以及4）检查培训活动益处的个体差异以确定先前存在的能力是否介导和调节培训结果，并检查具体的干预措施是否对某个儿童亚群比其他儿童亚群更有益。这些发现应该揭示数学技能发展的潜在机制，并推进该领域对不同认知系统如何受到特定干预的差异影响的理解。这种知识对制定和实施循证干预措施具有影响。

This project, a collaboration between researchers at the University of Maryland and the University of California-Irvine, will test the benefits of training activities for improving the mathematical achievement of kindergartners from low-income backgrounds using newly-developed tablet computer games. The gap in mathematical proficiency between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds is present before children enter elementary school, and it progressively widens over the course of schooling. Importantly, these early differences in mathematical knowledge predict the rate of growth in mathematics learning and achievement as late as high school. The investigators will examine improvements in children's numerical knowledge as well as improvements in working memory. The project is funded by the EHR Core Research program, which supports fundamental research that advances the research literature on STEM learning.The project examines how interventions targeted towards improving children's numerical knowledge (domain-specific skills) or their working memory (domain-general skills) might promote their mathematical achievement. The interventions will involve playing game-like activities on tablet computers over the course of several sessions. The main focus will be on children from low-income backgrounds who are most at risk for poor scholastic achievement due to their deficits in early mathematical skills and working memory capacity. Specifically, the project will 1) examine improvements in low-income children's conceptual and procedural numerical knowledge (domain specific skills) as well as improvements in working memory and executive control (domain general skills) by targeting either numerical knowledge or working memory in isolation, 2) examine the additive effects of a combined domain-specific and domain-general approach, 3) examine the longevity of any effects by follow-up testing participants several months after training completion, and 4) examine individual differences in the benefits of the training activities to determine whether preexisting abilities mediate and moderate training outcomes, and to examine whether specific interventions are more beneficial for a certain subpopulation of children than others. The findings should shed light on the underlying mechanisms of the development of mathematical skills, and advance the field's understanding of how different cognitive systems are differentially affected by specific interventions. This knowledge has implications for the development and implementation of evidence-based interventions.