Response to computer-assisted intervention in children most at risk for mathematics difficulties

Evidence of an association between poor early number skills and a high risk for later difficulties in mathematics manifests a need for both early identification of risk and effective prevention of difficulties. However, only a few theory-based assessment and progress monitoring tools, and intervention methods are avail able for this purpose in Finnish pre-primary education. This thesis aimed to examine to what extent a theory-based computer-assisted intervention method (GraphoGame Math, GGM) can support early number skills development in children (6௅7-year-olds) most at risk for mathematics difficulties (MD; defined as performance below the 10th percentile). The specific aims were threefold…

Cognitive skills, self-beliefs and task interest in children with low reading and/or arithmetic fluency

This study examined the identifiability and early cognitive and motivational markers of low reading and arithmetic fluency. Comparisons of these characteristics between Finnish third graders (n = 197) with low fluency in reading, arithmetic, or both revealed, first, that the majority of third graders with low arithmetic fluency showed low arithmetic skills already at first-grade spring, whereas children with low reading fluency were identified from the second-grade fall onward. Second, all groups with low fluency showed low rapid automatized naming and counting skills across the primary school years, while in other cognitive skills these groups showed different patterns. Third, all groups w…

Individuality in the Early Number Skill Components Underlying Basic Arithmetic Skills

Early number skills underlie success in basic arithmetic. However, very little is known about the skill profiles among children in preprimary education and how the potential profiles are related to arithmetic development. This longitudinal study of 440 Finnish children in preprimary education (mean age: 75 months) modeled latent performancelevel profile groups for the early number skill components that are proposed to be key predictors of arithmetic (symbolic number comparison, mapping, and verbal counting skills). Based on three assessment time points (September, January, and May), four profile groups were found: the poorest-performing (6%), low-performing (16%), nearaverage-performing (33…

Preventive Support for Kindergarteners Most At-Risk for Mathematics Difficulties: Computer-Assisted Intervention

Weaknesses in early number skills have been found to be a risk factor for later difficulties in mathematical performance. Nevertheless, only a few intervention studies with young children have been published. In this study, the responsiveness to early support in kindergarteners with most severe difficulties was examined with two different computer programs. Two intervention groups were matched by age, visuo-spatial, and phonological working memory, as well as early number skills. After a short and intensive computerized intervention, the results indicated significant intervention effects for verbal counting Wilcoxon ES (r) = 0.46, and dot counting fluency, r = 0.52, when practiced with Grap…

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Individual variance in responsiveness to early computerized mathematics intervention

Abstract We examined the effects of short, intensive computerized intervention in early number skills for kindergarteners with poor addition skills (below 1.5 SD ). The mathematical content of the software was hierarchically organized, starting from one-to-one correspondence, comparing and ordering, and proceeding via number concept and counting to basic addition. The results showed positive within-group effects for basic addition (Wilcoxon ES ( r ) = .59), verbal counting (.56), and the Number Sets Test (.45; see Geary, Bailey, & Hoard, 2009 ). The effects remained stable over a 9-week follow-up period. However, there was no significant between-group difference in terms of gain scores as c…

Cognitive Correlates of the Covariance in Reading and Arithmetic Fluency: Importance of Serial Retrieval Fluency

This study examines the core predictors of the covariance in reading and arithmetic fluency and the domain-general cognitive skills that explain the core predictors and covariance. Seven-year-old Finnish children (N = 200) were assessed on rapid automatized naming (RAN), phonological awareness, letter knowledge, verbal counting, number writing, number comparison, memory skills, and processing and articulation speed in the spring of Grade 1 and on reading and arithmetic fluency in the fall of Grade 2. RAN and verbal counting were strongly associated, and a constructed latent factor, serial retrieval fluency (SRF), was the strongest unique predictor of the shared variance. Other unique predic…