Arithmetic knowledge from the spontaneous attention to relations. Issue 1 (24th July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Prather, Richard
• Is Part Of: Developmental science. Volume 24:Issue 1(2021)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2020-07-24
• Subjects: arithmetic -- numerical cognition -- parent talk -- SFON -- SFOR; Developmental psychology -- Periodicals; Psychology, Comparative -- Periodicals; 155
• DOI: 10.1111/desc.13003
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1363-755X

Abstract

Abstract: Children's knowledge of arithmetic principles is a key aspect of early mathematics knowledge. Knowledge of arithmetic principles predicts how children approach solving arithmetic problems and the likelihood of their success. Prior work has begun to address how children might learn arithmetic principles in a classroom setting. Understanding of arithmetic principles involves understanding how numbers in arithmetic equations relate to another. For example, the Relation to Operands (RO) principle is that for subtracting natural numbers ( A − B = C ), the difference ( C ) must be smaller than the minuend ( A ). In the current study we evaluate if individual differences in arithmetic principle knowledge (APK) can be predicted by the learners' spontaneous attention to relations (SAR) and if feedback can increase their attention to relations. Results suggest that participants' Spontaneous Attention to Number (SAN) does not predict their knowledge of the RO principle for symbolic arithmetic. Feedback regarding the attention to relations did not show a significant effect on SAR or participants' APK. We also did not find significant relations between reports of parent talk and the home environment with individual differences in SAN. The amount of parent's talk about relations was not significantly associated with learner's SAR and APK. We conclude that children's SAR with non‐symbolic number does not generalize to attention to relations with symbolic arithmetic. Abstract : For both symbolic and non‐symbolic number stimuli children may attend to relations between numbers. We hypothesized that children's spontaneous attention to relations (SAR) using a non‐symbolic task would significantly correlate with attending to relations in symbolic arithmetic. We find limited evidence that children's SAR predicted their performance on symbolic arithmetic tasks or their knowledge of relational arithmetic principles.