Strategy choices in simple and complex addition: Contributions of working memory and counting knowledge for children with mathematical disability

Groups of first-grade (mean age=82 months), third-grade (mean age=107 months), and fifth-grade (mean age=131 months) children with a learning disability in mathematics (MD, n=58) and their normally achieving peers ( n=91) were administered tasks that assessed their knowledge of counting principles,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental child psychology 2004-06, Vol.88 (2), p.121-151
Main Authors: Geary, David C, Hoard, Mary K, Byrd-Craven, Jennifer, Catherine DeSoto, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Arithmetic
Arithmetic development
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child clinical studies
Child, Preschool
Counting knowledge
Developmental disorders
Disabled Children - psychology
Error Patterns
Female
Grade 1
Grade 5
Humans
Individual Differences
Knowledge
Learning Disabilities
Learning disorders
Learning Disorders - psychology
Learning Strategies
Male
Mathematical disabilities
Mathematics
Mathematics Skills
Medical sciences
Memory
Problem Solving
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Strategy choices
Task Performance and Analysis
Working memory
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Summary:Groups of first-grade (mean age=82 months), third-grade (mean age=107 months), and fifth-grade (mean age=131 months) children with a learning disability in mathematics (MD, n=58) and their normally achieving peers ( n=91) were administered tasks that assessed their knowledge of counting principles, working memory, and the strategies used to solve simple (4 + 3) and complex (16 + 8) addition problems. In all grades, the children with MD showed a working memory deficit, and in first grade, the children with MD used less sophisticated strategies and committed more errors while solving simple and complex addition problems. The group differences in strategy usage and accuracy were related, in part, to the group difference in working memory and to group and individual differences in counting knowledge. Across grade-level and group, the switch from simple to complex addition problems resulted in a shift in the mix of problem-solving strategies. Individual differences in the strategy mix and in the strategy shift were related, in part, to individual differences in working memory capacity and counting knowledge.
ISSN:0022-0965
1096-0457
DOI:10.1016/j.jecp.2004.03.002