Improving Flexible Attention to Numerical and Spatial Magnitudes in Young Children

提高幼儿对数字和空间大小的灵活注意力

• 批准号: 2410889
• 负责人: Elizabeth Gunderson
• 金额: $ 178.71万
• 依托单位: Indiana University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-01-15 至 2028-10-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2410889&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Improving; Flexible; Attention; Numerical; Spatial

Mathematical skills are essential for STEM careers, as well as crucial tools in everyday life, from financial planning to medical decision-making. Unfortunately, many students fail to reach their potential in these skills. One of the challenges that preschool-aged children face when acquiring an understanding of numbers is distinguishing between numerical magnitudes (like three elephants) and spatial magnitudes (like the size of an elephant). Prior research suggests that children often focus on the size of the objects instead of the exact number of objects (for example, when comparing 3 elephants to 6 mice, children often mistakenly say that there is a greater number of elephants than mice). The ability to flexibly pay attention to both numerical and spatial magnitudes and then determine which magnitudes are relevant for a given situation is referred to as “flexible attention to magnitudes” (FAM). This project aims to understand the development of young children’s flexible attention to magnitudes skill and how it can best be supported by specific experiences in early childhood. It is hypothesized that this skill is essential to later mathematical thinking and is an important skill for many mathematical activities, such as number line estimation and proportional reasoning.The proposed studies are designed to identify specific mechanisms that lead to improvements in flexible attention to magnitudes (FAM) skills. The first aim of these studies is to examine the roles of mathematical language and visual experience as potential causal mechanisms that drive improvement in this skill in young children. The second aim is to determine whether improving flexible attention to magnitudes skill has a causal effect on mathematics achievement. The third aim is to test whether an intervention leads to durable improvements in flexible attention to magnitudes skill and mathematics achievement, and far transfer to executive function skills. The fourth aim is to explore whether the impact of flexible attention to magnitudes instruction depends on students’ socioeconomic status (SES) and initial number word knowledge. These aims will be tested with young children ages 3 - 5 years via three experimenter-led studies using pretest-intervention-posttest designs. Each study will compare reading books with specific types of FAM content to each other and to an active control. Study 1 will test the effects of mathematical language and Study 2 will examine the role of visual experience on FAM skill and mathematics achievement. Study 3 will examine gains in FAM skill and mathematics achievement at a delayed post-test, and far transfer to executive function skills. Study 4 will pool data from Studies 2 and 3 to provide a well-powered test of SES and number knowledge as moderators of the effects of FAM intervention. These studies will build a theoretical model of how FAM skill develops and impacts other skills, while simultaneously laying the foundation for larger-scale interventions aimed at improving children’s mathematics skills.This project is supported by NSF's EDU Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

从财务计划到医疗决策，数学技能对于STEM职业以及日常生活中的重要工具至关重要。不幸的是，许多学生无法在这些技能上发挥潜力。在获得对数字的理解时，学龄前儿童面临的挑战之一就是区分数值尺寸（例如三只大象）和空间尺寸（例如大象的大小）。先前的研究表明，儿童通常专注于物体的大小，而不是确切的物体数量（例如，当将3只大象与6只小鼠进行比较时，儿童经常错误地说大象比小鼠更大）。灵活注意数值和空间尺寸，然后确定哪些磁化率与给定情况相关的能力被称为“灵活注意对磁化率”（FAM）。该项目旨在了解幼儿对攻击技能的灵活关注以及如何最好地由幼儿时期的特定经验来支持它。假设该技能对于后来的数学思维至关重要，并且是许多数学活动的重要技能，例如数字线估计和比例推理。拟议的研究旨在确定特定的机制，从而提高了对射击（FAM）技能的灵活关注的特定机制。这些研究的第一个目的是研究数学语言和视觉经验的作用，这是潜在的因果机制，这些机制推动了幼儿的这种技能的提高。第二个目的是确定提高对磁化技能的灵活关注是否会对数学成就产生因果影响。第三个目的是测试干预措施是否会导致对磁性技能和数学成就的灵活关注持久改进，并转移到执行功能技能上。第四个目的是探索灵活的关注对攻击指导的影响是否取决于学生的社会经济状况（SES）和初始数字知识。这些目标将通过三个专家领导的研究，使用预先干预的验证设计设计，对3-5岁的幼儿进行测试。每项研究都将阅读书籍与特定类型的FAM内容相互比较，并与主动控制。研究1将测试数学语言和研究2的影响2，将研究视觉经验对FAM技能和数学成就的作用。研究3将在测试后延迟地检查FAM技能和数学成就的收益，并转移到执行功能技能。研究4将汇总研究2和3的数据，以提供有关SES和数量知识的能力测试，作为FAM干预效果的主持人。这些研究将建立一个理论模型，即FAM技能如何发展和影响其他技能，同时为旨在提高儿童数学技能的大规模干预措施奠定基础。该项目得到了NSF的EDU核心研究（ECR）计划的支持。 ECR计划强调了基本的STEM教育研究，该研究在该领域产生了基础知识。投资是在重要，广泛和持久的关键领域进行的：STEM学习和STEM学习环境，扩大了STEM的参与以及STEM劳动力发展。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过评估该基金会的知识分子的优点和更广泛的影响来审查标准。