2-138 - Moderators of the Development of Mathematical Skills

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Extensive evidence has suggested that math abilities in early childhood are a robust predictor of children’s later academic skills and eventual labor market outcomes. However, it is clear that, even within the same educational contexts, some children are more effective at learning mathematics from the same inputs than others. The sources of this heterogeneity of children’s ability to learn math are unclear. The proposed symposium explores multiple potential moderators of children’s ability to learn math.
Paper 1 considers math as a multidimensional construct and investigates the role of both conceptual and procedural understanding of mathematics in prekindergarten in the development of children mathematical skills in kindergarten. As well, this paper investigates the interactions between conceptual and procedural skills with one another and with executive functioning in predicting the development of skills. Paper 2 uses latent growth curve analyses to investigate the relations between executive function and effortful control and the development of mathematical skills across the first two years of schooling. This paper also investigates different mechanistic pathways through which mathematical skills develop for children at risk and not at risk of poor math skills. Finally, paper 3 investigates the relations between classroom math instruction and the development of mathematical skills over each kindergarten, first, and second grades. This paper also investigates the interactions between executive function and approaches to learning with instruction to explore whether some children benefit more from instruction than others.

Sub Unit

• Cognitive Processes

Chair

• Andrew Ribner, New York University

Individual Presentations

• Early Understanding of Conceptual and Procedural Mathematics Relate to Later Mathematical Skills - Presenting Author: Camilla Gilmore, Loughborough University; Non-Presenting Author: Andrew Ribner, New York University; Non-Presenting Author: Korbinian Moeller, University of Tuebingen; Non-Presenting Author: Clancy Blair, New York University

• Multiple pathways to acquiring math knowledge - Presenting Author: EeLynn Ng, National Institute of Education, Singapore; Non-Presenting Author: Rebecca Bull, National Institute of Education; Non-Presenting Author: David Munez, National Institute of Education, Singapore

• Executive Function Facilitates Learning From Math Instruction - Presenting Author: Andrew Ribner, New York University