Numerical cognition 3: Arithmetic skills

Question 1

Explain the findings of Levine et al’s stidy into the effects of different formats

Answer 1

• Older children more accurate in all formats
• For addition, children were more accurate in the non verbal format and accuracy in word problems and abstract symbolic problems did not differ
• For subtraction, children were more accurate in the non verbal format and the accuracy was higher for word problems compared to abstract symbolic problems

Spontaneous use of fingers

Question 2

Explain the findings of Hembree’s study

Answer 2

Up to 7 years old, providing manipulatives improves accuracy
More accurate when problems refer to real situations and objects and familiar rather than unfamiliar contexts
Use of pictures led to higher accuracy