Poster #71 - Associations between executive functions and mathematics and science misconceptions in primary school children

• In Event: 2-002 - Special Poster Session 05 with Continental Breakfast Reception
  In Poster Session: PS 05 - Interdisciplinary Section

Integrative Statement

Children’s ability to understand science and mathematics concepts is limited by their ability to go beyond direct perceptual evidence or pre-existing beliefs. For example, the concept that a large negative number is smaller than a small negative number is initially counterintuitive. Many concepts in mathematics and science are counterintuitive, and are thus difficult for children to understand. Executive functions, such as working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility, may play an important role in an individual’s ability to learn and understand counterintuitive concepts. Working memory has previously been shown to associate with arithmetic performance both cross-sectionally and longitudinally but its role in helping children resolve counterintuitive problems has not been previously investigated. Inhibitory control has been proposed to support counterintuitive reasoning in mathematics and science by allowing individuals to inhibit incorrect perceptual evidence or pre-existing beliefs and instead favour the correct concept. However previous research has tended to focus on single misconceptions (e.g., fractions, or electrical circuits) rather than trying to investigate the importance of executive functions for the resolution of misconceptions in mathematics and science more broadly. In phase 1 of the UnLocke project (www.unlocke.org), we examined the association between executive functions and children’s ability to answer mathematics and science misconception problems in 372 pupils from Grade 2 (aged 7-8 years old) and Grade 4 (aged 9-10 years old) from 22 primary schools in the UK. The pupils completed a cognitive task battery in school in a one-on-one session, which included IQ tests and four executive function tasks assessing inhibitory control and verbal and visuospatial working memory. In addition, pupils completed a novel curriculum-tailored mathematics and science misconception task, consisting of multiple-choice questions on a range of mathematics and science concepts that school-aged children find difficult to understand. Performance on inhibitory control tasks were combined in two components reflecting accuracy and RT respectively. Partial correlation analyses covarying for age and gender in Grade 2 and Grade 4 children separately showed that (1) performance on the misconceptions task was more strongly associated with IQ, verbal and visuospatial working memory and the accuracy inhibitory control measure in Grade 4 than in Grade 2, and (2) these associations were stronger for mathematics than science. Follow up regression analyses showed that working memory measures explained shared variance in Grade 2 mathematics misconception performance, and that working memory measures did not account for unique variance over and beyond IQ. In Grade 4, in mathematics, verbal working memory and the accuracy inhibitory control measure explained unique variance in counterintuitive reasoning performance, however only the verbal working memory remained a significant predictor when IQ was covaried. In Science, executive function measures together explained a small percentage of variance but no individual measure showed significant association, and even less so when IQ was covaried. Overall these results demonstrate the existence of cross-sectional associations between working memory and inhibitory control and counterintuitive reasoning in mathematics and science in primary school, and that these associations are stronger in mathematics than in science, and in older than younger children.

Authors

• Claire R Smid, Birkbeck University of London
  Non-Presenting Author

• Hannah R Smith, Birkbeck University of London
  Non-Presenting Author

• Roshni Modhvadia, Birkbeck University of London
  Non-Presenting Author

• Emily K. Farran, University College London
  Non-Presenting Author

• Iroise Dumontheil, University of London
  Non-Presenting Author

• Denis Mareschal, Birkbeck, University of London
  Presenting Author

• UnLocke Team, University of London
  Non-Presenting Author