Individual differences in kindergarten math achievement: the integrative roles of approximation skills and working memory
journal contribution
posted on 2016-01-19, 16:40 authored by Iro Xenidou-DervouIro Xenidou-Dervou, Bert De Smedt, Menno van der Schoot, Ernest C.D.M. van LieshoutKindergarteners can conduct basic computations with large nonsymbolic (e.g. dots, objects) and symbolic (i.e. Arabic numbers) numerosities in an approximate manner. These abilities are related to individual differences in mathematics achievement. At the same time, these individual differences are also determined by Working Memory (WM). The interrelationship between approximation, WM and math achievement has been largely unexplored. Also, the differential role of nonsymbolic and symbolic approximation in explaining math competencies is yet unclear. We examined an integrative theoretical model on the association between approximation (addition and comparison) and WM in 444 kindergarteners. As expected, approximation entailed two distinct abilities (nonsymbolic and symbolic). Both abilities correlated with mathematics achievement (i.e. counting and exact arithmetic), even when WM was taken into account. The association between nonsymbolic approximation and math achievement was completely mediated by symbolic approximation skills. These findings add to our understanding of the cognitive architecture underlying kindergarten math achievement. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.
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School
- Science
Department
- Mathematics Education Centre
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Learning and Individual DifferencesVolume
28Pages
119 - 129Citation
XENIDOU-DERVOU, I. ... et al, 2013. Individual differences in kindergarten math achievement: the integrative roles of approximation skills and working memory. Learning and Individual Differences, 28, pp.119-129Publisher
© Elsevier Inc.Version
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Publisher statement
This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Publication date
2013ISSN
1041-6080eISSN
1744-7682Publisher version
Language
- en
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