Collaborative Research: Domain-General and Domain-Specific Training to Improve Children's Mathematics

合作研究：通用领域和特定领域的培训以提高儿童数学水平

• 批准号: 1561447
• 负责人: Geetha Ramani
• 金额: $ 74.91万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland, College Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-07-01 至 2020-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1561447&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Domain; General; Specific

This project, a collaboration between researchers at the University of Maryland and the University of California-Irvine, will test the benefits of training activities for improving the mathematical achievement of kindergartners from low-income backgrounds using newly-developed tablet computer games. The gap in mathematical proficiency between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds is present before children enter elementary school, and it progressively widens over the course of schooling. Importantly, these early differences in mathematical knowledge predict the rate of growth in mathematics learning and achievement as late as high school. The investigators will examine improvements in children's numerical knowledge as well as improvements in working memory. The project is funded by the EHR Core Research program, which supports fundamental research that advances the research literature on STEM learning.The project examines how interventions targeted towards improving children's numerical knowledge (domain-specific skills) or their working memory (domain-general skills) might promote their mathematical achievement. The interventions will involve playing game-like activities on tablet computers over the course of several sessions. The main focus will be on children from low-income backgrounds who are most at risk for poor scholastic achievement due to their deficits in early mathematical skills and working memory capacity. Specifically, the project will 1) examine improvements in low-income children's conceptual and procedural numerical knowledge (domain specific skills) as well as improvements in working memory and executive control (domain general skills) by targeting either numerical knowledge or working memory in isolation, 2) examine the additive effects of a combined domain-specific and domain-general approach, 3) examine the longevity of any effects by follow-up testing participants several months after training completion, and 4) examine individual differences in the benefits of the training activities to determine whether preexisting abilities mediate and moderate training outcomes, and to examine whether specific interventions are more beneficial for a certain subpopulation of children than others. The findings should shed light on the underlying mechanisms of the development of mathematical skills, and advance the field's understanding of how different cognitive systems are differentially affected by specific interventions. This knowledge has implications for the development and implementation of evidence-based interventions.

该项目是马里兰州大学研究人员与加州大学 - 艾尔文分校之间的合作，将测试培训活动的好处，以使用新开发的平板电脑游戏来改善来自低收入背景的幼儿园的数学成就。来自不同社会经济背景的儿童之间数学水平的差距是在儿童进入小学之前存在的，并且在整个上学过程中逐渐扩大。重要的是，数学知识上的这些早期差异可以预测数学学习和成就的增长速度，直到高中。调查人员将研究儿童数字知识的改进以及工作记忆的改进。该项目由EHR核心研究计划提供资金，该计划支持有关STEM学习的研究文献的基础研究。该项目研究了针对改善儿童的数字知识（特定领域技能）或他们的工作记忆（领域将军技能）的干预措施可能会促进其数学成就。这些干预措施将在几个会话的过程中涉及在平板电脑上玩类似游戏的活动。主要重点将是来自低收入背景的儿童，这些孩子由于早期数学技能和工作记忆能力的缺陷而处于不良学术成就的风险上。具体而言，该项目将1）检查低收入儿童的概念和程序性数值知识（特定领域技能）的改善，以及通过靶向数值知识或孤立的数值知识或工作记忆来改进工作记忆和执行控制（领域一般技能），2）培训统一和域名的效果，3）探讨了对统一效果的结合效应，3）培训活动的益处的个体差异，以确定现有能力是否调解和适度的培训结果，并检查特定的干预措施是否比其他人比其他人更有益。这些发现应阐明数学技能发展的潜在机制，并促进该领域对不同认知系统如何受到特定干预措施差异影响的理解。这些知识对基于证据的干预措施的发展和实施具有影响。