This study aims to examine whether a maths-unrelated reading intervention can improve children's mathematical performance and to compare the effects of maths-related and maths-unrelated reading ...interventions. Furthermore, this study examines whether the effects of reading interventions are moderated by individual differences, including gender, pre-test maths performance and general cognitive ability. One hundred thirty-four second-grade Chinese children were recruited into three different groups. In the control group, the children received business as usual teaching, while in the two experimental groups, the children received a maths-related or maths-unrelated reading intervention. The results showed that the maths-unrelated reading intervention could significantly improve children's mathematical performance, and the beneficial effect did not differ from the maths-related intervention. Moreover, the effects of the two reading interventions were not moderated by children's individual differences. These findings support the function hypothesis of language for mathematics.
Previous research has outlined high anxiety in connection with gamma modulation, identifying that gamma-band activity (40-100 Hz) correlates with processing of threat perception, attention and ...anxiety. Maths anxiety research has also noted the involvement of these aspects, yet this has not been investigated from a neurophysiological standpoint. Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to research gamma-band activity in relation to maths anxiety over two studies. The first measured gamma differences during the processing of complex addition and multiplication stimuli. Results identified differences between high and low maths anxious individuals; significantly greater gamma power was observed in those with high maths anxiety than those with low maths anxiety. As a control condition was not used, the second study replicated the design, but also applied a non-numerical control condition amongst the other stimuli sets. This showed significantly greater gamma activity in high maths anxious individuals across numerical conditions, but not in the non-numerical condition. High maths anxious individuals likely show attentional bias and threat perception to numerical-based stimuli, as indexed by gamma power. This study provides the first evidence of greater gamma-band activity in high maths anxious individuals and serves as a foundation for the exploration of gamma activity in high maths anxious individuals.
There are strong links between music and mathematics dating back to Pythagoras and beyond. This book draws together the two disciplines outlining the key methods and concepts that underpin the ...subjects from one of the earliest uses of a musical cryptogram to computer music in the twenty-first century. Maths and Music is divided into sections, each one exploring a different mathematical aspect of music: rhythm; symmetry; scales; form and structure; and finally some musical curiosities. Musical examples are taken from across the world, from ancient and medieval music through to popular music of the twenty-first century. In all, the book covers over 200 pieces of music ranging from classical symphonies to electronic dance music with numerous musical excerpts given. There are clear explanations throughout along with glossaries of musical and mathematical terms.
There is a paucity of information surrounding maths anxiety levels in the British undergraduate student population, and, due to terminological issues, existing measures of maths anxiety may not be ...appropriate measures to use with this population. The current study, therefore, reports on the development and validation of a new maths anxiety scale. Using a large sample of British undergraduates, the 23-item Mathematics Anxiety Scale—UK (MAS-UK) is shown to be a reliable and valid measure of maths anxiety. Exploratory factor analysis indicated the existence of three factors, highlighting maths anxiety as a multidimensional construct. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good-fitting model. Normative data on maths anxiety in a British undergraduate student population are provided, along with comparisons between academic undergraduate subject areas and genders. The MAS-UK may represent an easily administrable, reliable, and valid tool for assessing maths anxiety in British and potentially European undergraduate student populations.
The primary- to secondary-education transition is a substantive life event for many children. The transition can be associated with changes in the developmental trajectories of both emotional health ...and academic achievement. The current study looked at whether the trajectory of mathematical attainment and emotional health (anxiety) across this transition predicted later maths anxiety. A secondary analysis of data from the Twin Early Development Study (TEDS) was performed. The statistical models were fit on the 753 participants (one from each twin pair) for which there were measures of mathematical performance across the primary- to secondary-education transition and maths anxiety at age 18. Two multi-level growth models were fit predicting mathematical attainment and anxiety over the primary- to secondary-education transition. The intercepts and slopes for each child were extracted from these models and used as predictors of subsequent maths anxiety at age 18. These effects were adjusted for biological sex, socio-economic status, verbal cognitive ability and general anxiety. Maths anxiety at age 18 was significantly predicted by both pre-transition levels of anxiety and mathematical attainment and their rate of change across the primary- to secondary-education transition. However, the effects were small, suggesting that theories of maths anxiety may have overplayed the role of prior mathematical attainment and general anxiety.
Mathematics anxiety in initial teacher education is a growing issue that reflects on teacher quality and their student’s maths anxiety and abilities. Previous studies have presented a range of ...different perspectives to mathematics anxiety. We aimed to explore further the reasons of mathematics anxiety in preservice teachers and suggest some intervention strategies in reducing maths anxiety for initial teacher education systems. We used a mixed methodology in this research analysing both qualitative data along with some quantified data derived from qualitative data sources. The findings provide insights to causes of maths and test anxiety along with some intervention strategies that teacher educators can use in their future teaching.
Educating learners with Down syndrome can seem daunting at first, but this practical guide for teachers and carers to using evidence-based practices shows you how. Taking a unique lifespan, ...curriculum-based approach, Rhonda M. Faragher promotes the understanding that people with Down syndrome are a diverse group with vast potential and varied learning needs. The book covers core learning areas such as literacy, numeracy, mathematics, science, and the Humanities, and features key points from the research literature, teaching strategies, practitioner vignettes, and personal stories from people with Down syndrome. It considers learning from birth and early intervention, through primary and secondary school, to post-secondary education and into various contexts of adulthood. Drawing on the latest research, this guide for educators is rich with strategies, as well as tips from other parents and teachers, providing an accessible and empowering resource for the delivery of quality education to benefit learners with Down syndrome.
The choice of mobile applications (apps) for learning has been heavily relied on customer and teacher reviews, designers’ descriptions, and alignment with existing learning and human-computer ...interaction theories. There is limited empirical evidence to advise on the educational value of mobile apps as these are used by children. Understanding the impact of mobile apps on young children’s learning is timely given the lack of evidence-based recommendations that could guide parents and teachers in selecting apps for their children. In this paper, we present the results of a series of randomised control trial (RCTs) with 376 children aged 5 to 6 years old who interacted with two maths apps in three schools in the UK. Pre/post-test comparisons revealed learning gains in both the control and intervention groups, suggesting that the selected applications are equally good to standard maths practice. Implications for the selection and use of mobile apps are discussed.
In this paper, we explore the roles of gender social norms in explaining the gender gap in maths test scores across the entire distribution. Applying generalized quantile regression models, we show ...that gender-equal cultural norms eliminate the gender gap in maths scores at the top of the distribution. Moreover, this effect is concentrated among students in the higher grade level. An investigation of the underlying mechanisms shows that girls from more gender-equal regions are less likely to hold maths-specific stereotypes and are likely to receive more attention from maths teachers. Additionally, girls from more gender-equal regions tend to perceive that parents have higher educational aspirations for them and are more confident about their future. Our paper provides compelling evidence that policy initiatives aiming at fostering egalitarian gender norms could serve as powerful tools to alleviate the gender gap in maths at the top of the distribution.
In this paper, we present the first meta-analysis of the efficacy of game-based interventions on reducing students’ levels of maths anxiety. After searching for randomised studies describing ...game-based interventions to reduce maths anxiety, 22 effect sizes with 913 participants described in 15 peer-review articles met the selection criteria. A random effects meta-analysis indicated a reduction of maths anxiety with a small effect size (mean effect size ES = −0.24, CI = − 0.47, −0.01), marginally significant at 0.05 level but not robust to a leave-one-out sensitivity analysis. Several factors moderated the results: non-digital games were more effective, while digital games had a negligible mean effect size of ES = −0.10, CI = − 0.24, 0.03. The effect size was also moderated by the total duration of the intervention, to the advantage of longer interventions, and by the type of gameplay: games had a greater effect on maths anxiety reduction when they promoted collaborative and social interactions. Such features were mainly present in non-digital games, while all bar one of the digital interventions used single-player games. The results obtained, which were particularly weak for digital games, indicated the need to develop and test games explicitly designed for maths-anxious students to increase the impact of game-based interventions. This will require investigation into the relationship between game features and maths anxiety through analysis of the behaviour of anxious and non-anxious students at play. Among the features that an anxiety-aware game could employ, we suggest collaborative gameplay, social interactions, adaptability, features promoting intrinsic motivation and embedding real-time measurements of maths anxiety in the game.
•There is weak and non-robust evidence that games can reduce math anxiety levels.•The effect is weaker for digital games, that showed a negligible effect, and stronger for non-digital games.•Collaborative games and longer interventions showed a stronger effect.•The results indicate the need to design games for math anxious students and analyse the game experience of players.
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