Mathematical problem solving and working memory in children with learning disabilities: both executive and...

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Learning disabilities (LD) significantly impact academic performance, particularly in mathematics.
• Working memory (WM) plays a critical role in complex cognitive tasks, including mathematical problem solving.
• Understanding the specific cognitive mechanisms underlying mathematical difficulties in children with LD is essential for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between working memory (WM) and mathematical problem solving abilities in children with learning disabilities (LD).
• To compare the WM and problem-solving performance of children with LD to both age-matched and achievement-matched peers.
• To elucidate the mediating role of cognitive processes, such as phonological processing and long-term memory (LTM), in the WM-mathematics relationship.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving children with LD, chronologically age-matched (CA-M) peers, and younger achievement-matched peers.
• Assessment of verbal and visual-spatial working memory, phonological processing, problem-solving components, and word-problem solving accuracy.
• Statistical analyses to determine the unique contributions of WM and mediating factors to solution accuracy.

Main Results:

• Children with LD demonstrated lower accuracy in word problem solving and poorer performance on problem-solving components and WM tasks compared to CA-M peers.
• Children with LD performed comparably to younger peers on most processing measures, with exceptions in domain-general WM, visual-spatial WM, phonemic deletion, and problem goal identification.
• Both verbal and visual-spatial WM significantly predicted solution accuracy, independent of phonological processing.
• The influence of WM on mathematical solution accuracy was mediated by long-term memory (LTM) processes, specifically knowledge of algorithms.

Conclusions:

• Working memory (WM) is a significant factor in mathematical problem solving for children with learning disabilities (LD).
• The relationship between executive functions (like WM) and mathematical accuracy in children with LD is primarily mediated by long-term memory (LTM) retrieval of algorithmic knowledge, rather than phonological processing.
• These findings highlight the importance of targeting both WM and LTM-based strategies in interventions for mathematical difficulties in children with LD.