Relatively few studies have directly examined children's memory of object-based spatial structure of room-sized environments. The current study investigated how children remember the spatial structure of a room, and the role of pictorial working memory (WM) and different testing perspectives in this process. In Experiment 1, 80 children aged 5 to…

The relationship between mathematics anxiety and performance has not been explored with young children who learn math using visuospatially rich adaptive games. In this study, 40 second graders used Reflex™, a game-based, visuospatially intensive adaptive learning platform for practicing mathematics fact fluency. A within-subjects, pretest-posttest…

Spatial skills are critical for learning in STEM areas and are affected by spatial anxiety and working memory. Prior work also showed that there are interaction effects between spatial anxiety and verbal working memory (WM) on spatial skills, such that the negative relation between spatial anxiety and spatial skills is stronger among higher- than…

In this paper, we investigated the contribution of both cognitive and affective factors to mathematical skills. In particular, we looked at the protective role of self-concept for mathematical learning and performance. In a field study, we tested the relation of math self-concept and short-term visuo-spatial working memory to the mathematical…

The study's purpose was to examine the contribution of a programmable robot to an intervention program for promoting spatial ability (spatial relations, visual-memory, mental rotation) of preschool children. Eighty-four participants were randomly assigned to three intervention groups: programmable-robot-based intervention, traditional…

To examine the relationship between early number sense and later symbolic arithmetic competence and how they are connected in young Chinese children. The present study utilized a longitudinal sample of 115 Chinese children aged 3 to 6. Young children completed measures to assess number sense, visual spatial skills (in the fall of their second…

Young children have informal knowledge of fractions before learning about fraction symbols in school. In the current study, we followed 103 children in the Mid-Atlantic United States from the fall to the spring of first grade to characterize the development of individual differences in early informal fraction knowledge, as well as its relation to…

Background: Previous studies indicated that working memory (WM) updating and WM capacity play essential roles in mathematical ability. However, it is unclear whether WM capacity mediates the effect of WM updating on mathematics, and whether the cascading effects vary with different mathematical domains. Aims: The current study aims to explore the…

While symbolic number processing is an important correlate for typical and low mathematics achievement, it remains to be determined whether children with high mathematics achievement also have excellent symbolic number processing abilities. We investigated this question in 64 children (aged 8 to 10), i.e., 32 children with persistent high…

Background: Recent research suggested fluent processing as an explanation on why number sense contributes to simple arithmetic tasks--'Fluency hypothesis'. Aims: The current study investigates whether number sense contributes to such arithmetic tasks when other cognitive factors are controlled for (including those that mediate the link); and…

Previous studies have found that block play results in better spatial ability which may lead to greater mathematical skills. The current study examined a specific type of block play, structured block play in which a copy of a block configuration is constructed. Structured block play is a difficult cognitive task that requires an understanding of…

Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a mathematics learning disorder that affects approximately 5% to 7% of the population. This study aimed to detect the underlying domain-specific and domain-general differences between DD and typically developing (TD) children. We recruited 9-year-old primary school children to form the DD group via a 2-year…

The purpose of the present study was to clarify comprehensively how and to what extent inhibition, spatial working memory (WM), and auditory WM influence agility, balance, and dexterity of motor coordination and comprehensive physical ability in kindergarteners. Participants were 43 children between the ages of 4 and 5 years old. The children…

Mental rotation is positively related to arithmetic ability; however, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unclear. The possible roles of working memory, place-value concept, and number line estimation in the correlation between mental rotation and whole-number computation were investigated. One hundred and fifty-five first-grade…

We examined the role of visuo-spatial working memory in different types of arithmetic ability in children. Previous research had suggested that arithmetic is not a single entity (Dowker, 2005, 2015), and also that visuo-spatial working memory is specifically involved in mathematical cognition (McKenzie et al., 2003) There has, however, been little…