Longitudinal relationships between visuospatial working memory, verbal counting and number line knowledge in...

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Development
• Educational Psychology
• Early Childhood Education

Background:

• Number line knowledge is a key predictor of mathematical achievement in children.
• Understanding the factors influencing number line acquisition is vital for early math education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between domain-general (visuospatial working memory) and domain-specific (verbal and one-to-one counting) skills and number line knowledge in preschoolers.
• To examine the longitudinal interplay of these cognitive skills in predicting math achievement.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study with 135 preschool children assessed at two time points, five months apart.
• Children were evaluated on visuospatial working memory, verbal counting, one-to-one counting, and number line knowledge.
• Path analysis was used to determine predictive relationships between variables.

Main Results:

• Visuospatial working memory significantly predicted number line knowledge at the second assessment (T2).
• This prediction was both direct and indirect, mediated by early number line knowledge (T1) and verbal counting skills.
• Verbal counting emerged as a potential strategy for estimating numerical positions on a number line.

Conclusions:

• Visuospatial working memory is fundamental for the development of number line representation in young children.
• Verbal counting skills play a mediating role, potentially aiding in the estimation of numerical magnitudes.
• Findings highlight the importance of fostering visuospatial WM and counting strategies in preschool math curricula.