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Updated: Nov 23, 2025

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

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Associations Between Repeating Patterning, Growing Patterning, and Numerical Ability: A Longitudinal Panel Study in

Nore Wijns¹, Lieven Verschaffel¹, Bert De Smedt²

¹Centre for Instructional Psychology and Technology.

Child Development

|January 5, 2021

Summary

Early math skills show bidirectional links. Repeating and growing patterning abilities predict later numerical ability in young children, even when accounting for spatial skills.

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Multimedia Battery for Assessment of Cognitive and Basic Skills in Mathematics BM-PROMA

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Published on: August 28, 2021

Area of Science:

Cognitive Development
Early Childhood Education
Mathematics Education

Background:

Numerical ability and patterning skills are crucial for early academic success.
Understanding the developmental relationship between these skills is essential for targeted interventions.
Previous research suggests links, but the directionality and temporal dynamics require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the directionality of associations between repeating patterning, growing patterning, and numerical ability in preschool children.
To examine how these relationships evolve from ages 4 to 6 years.
To determine if these associations persist after controlling for spatial skills.

Main Methods:

Longitudinal study with 410 children assessed annually from ages 4 to 6 years.
Utilized a cross-lagged panel model to analyze bidirectional associations.
Included assessments of repeating patterning, growing patterning, and numerical ability, alongside spatial skills.

Main Results:

Bidirectional associations were found between patterning abilities and numerical ability from ages 4 to 5 years, controlling for spatial skills.
From ages 5 to 6 years, patterning abilities uniquely predicted numerical ability, but not vice versa.
The direct associations between repeating and growing patterning performances diminished over time.

Conclusions:

Early patterning skills, particularly repeating and growing patterns, are significant predictors of later numerical ability in young children.
The developmental trajectory shows a shift from bidirectional influence to a unidirectional predictive relationship from patterning to numerical ability.
These findings underscore the importance of fostering patterning skills to support mathematical development in early childhood, independent of spatial abilities.