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Related Experiment Videos

Representational change and children's numerical estimation.

John E Opfer1, Robert S Siegler

  • 1The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. opfer.7@osu.edu

Cognitive Psychology
|April 28, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Children rapidly shift numerical representations with targeted feedback. The study shows that the greatest discrepancy in feedback leads to the most significant and broad changes in estimation proficiency.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Development
  • Educational Psychology
  • Numerical Cognition

Background:

  • Children's numerical estimation relies on developing representations of magnitude.
  • Understanding the mechanisms of representational change is key to improving math skills.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how children shift from immature to mature numerical representations.
  • To test if feedback with the largest representational discrepancy drives the most significant cognitive change.

Main Methods:

  • Applied overlapping waves theory and microgenetic methods.
  • Assessed second graders on numerical estimation and representational reliance.
  • Provided feedback varying in discrepancy between mature and immature representations.

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Main Results:

  • Feedback with the greatest discrepancy between representations induced the most substantial change.
  • This representational change was abrupt, often occurring after a single feedback trial.
  • The changes were broad, impacting estimates across the entire 0-1000 number range.

Conclusions:

  • Cognitive change in numerical representation can be holistic, not just incremental repairs.
  • Targeted, highly discrepant feedback is a powerful catalyst for rapid representational shifts.