Poster #74 - Comparing the Predictive Power of Face-to-Face Executive Function Measures on Preschool Numeracy and Geometry Performance

• In Event: 3-159 - Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Section - Education, Schooling

Integrative Statement

Research suggests the relationship between executive function (EF) and mathematics changes and evolves during the preschool years as children develop more complex cognitive skills (e.g., Schmitt et al., 2017). However, mathematics is frequently assessed only in terms of numeracy skills, neglecting geometry skills (Clements & Sarama, 2011). The purpose of this study was to examine whether the effects of EF were general across different areas of mathematics, focusing on both numeracy and geometry skills, and to compare these relationships across two time points.
One hundred eighteen children (61 girls), ages 39 to 68 months (M = 52.58, SD = 6.35) were included in analyses. Children were recruited from state-licensed child care centers; most were Caucasian, as is typical of the region.
Children responded to a panel of five face-to-face EF measures (Dimensional Change Card Sort [DCCS; attention set-shifting], Porteus Maze Test [simple inhibitory-control], Tower of Hanoi [response set-shifting], Head Toes Knees Shoulders [HTKS; complex inhibitory-control], Forward-Digit Span [working memory]) and a measure of math proficiency with two parts (TEAM A: numeracy; TEAM B; geometry), with assessments repeated about six months later (M = 5.61, SD = 1.12). For analyses, the sample was split at the mean age (52.58 months) into a younger and older group, as has been done in other studies (e.g., Bull et al., 2011).
Hierarchical regressions were run on numeracy (TEAM A) and geometry (TEAM B) skill. Block 1 contained demographic variables and block 2 added an EF measure. These two blocks of variables were regressed on both TEAM A and TEAM B for the two groups at two time points (Younger: Time 1 and Time 2; Older: Time 1 and Time 2), for a total of eight hierarchical regressions per EF measure, four on TEAM A and four on TEAM B.
Every EF measure was significant at one of the four measurement points, and often more than one for numeracy (see Table 1). Compared to the predictive power of these measures for TEAM A, fewer EF variables predicted TEAM B (see Table 2). While the measure with the greatest beta at Time 1 for the youngest children was the DCCS, it was not a significant predictor at later time points. The measure that predicted a greater amount of the variance in geometry skill for older children at both points was the HTKS.
Our results suggest that while numeracy and geometry are related, they have differing connections to EF, which to our knowledge was previously unknown. While all EF measures were predictive of numeracy skill for two time points, fewer were predictive of geometry skill. The HTKS, a measure of complex inhibitory-control, meaning in addition to inhibitory-control it assesses working memory skill (e.g., remembering rules of game), was most predictive of both numeracy and geometry. Perhaps inhibitory-control and working memory are skills that are especially important in developing proficiency in geometry. Future analyses are needed to clarify these relationships.

Authors

• Jacob A. Esplin, The University of Southern Mississippi
  Presenting Author

• Ann Berghout Austin, Utah State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Belinda Blevins-Knabe, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
  Non-Presenting Author

• Brionne Neilson, Southern Utah University
  Non-Presenting Author