You can count on your fingers: Finger-based intervention improves first-graders' arithmetic learning

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• The role of finger use in early mathematics education is debated.
• Limited scientific evidence exists on the effectiveness of finger-based training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of a finger-based training program on first-graders' mathematical abilities.
• To compare the effectiveness of finger training integrated into standard math instruction versus a business-as-usual curriculum.

Main Methods:

• An intervention study involving first-graders (average age 6.48 years).
• Participants completed 18 finger-based training sessions (approx. 30 minutes each) throughout the first school year.
• Comparison between the finger-training group (n=119) and a control group (n=123) using standard curriculum.

Main Results:

• Children in the finger-training group significantly outperformed the control group in written addition and subtraction tasks at the end of first grade and in a 9-month follow-up.
• No significant group differences were found in number line estimation tasks.
• The findings suggest finger-based strategies enhance arithmetic learning.

Conclusions:

• Finger-based numerical strategies can effectively improve arithmetic learning in young children.
• The study challenges skepticism regarding the use of fingers in primary mathematics education.
• Results support the concept of embodied numerical representation.