{"title":"The (in)effectiveness of training domain‐general skills to support early math knowledge","authors":"Emily R. Fyfe, Giulia A. Borriello","doi":"10.1111/cdep.12526","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Researchers agree that both domain‐general skills and domain‐specific skills contribute to mathematics knowledge, but questions arise as to which skills can and should be trained to improve children's learning outcomes. In this article, we synthesize research on training three domain‐general constructs in early childhood (patterning skills, working memory, and spatial reasoning) and their causal links to mathematics knowledge. The results are clear: Practice with these domain‐general tasks is unlikely to transfer to higher scores on measures of mathematics knowledge, especially for preschool‐aged children. Based on this evidence, we argue against using isolated domain‐general training to enhance math knowledge in early childhood. We offer recommendations for researchers and practitioners to optimize best practices in this area.","PeriodicalId":150,"journal":{"name":"Child Development Perspectives","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Child Development Perspectives","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12526","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Researchers agree that both domain‐general skills and domain‐specific skills contribute to mathematics knowledge, but questions arise as to which skills can and should be trained to improve children's learning outcomes. In this article, we synthesize research on training three domain‐general constructs in early childhood (patterning skills, working memory, and spatial reasoning) and their causal links to mathematics knowledge. The results are clear: Practice with these domain‐general tasks is unlikely to transfer to higher scores on measures of mathematics knowledge, especially for preschool‐aged children. Based on this evidence, we argue against using isolated domain‐general training to enhance math knowledge in early childhood. We offer recommendations for researchers and practitioners to optimize best practices in this area.
期刊介绍:
Child Development Perspectives" mission is to provide accessible, synthetic reports that summarize emerging trends or conclusions within various domains of developmental research, and to encourage multidisciplinary and international dialogue on a variety of topics in the developmental sciences. Articles in the journal will include reviews, commentary, and groups of papers on a targeted issue. Manuscripts presenting new empirical data are not appropriate for this journal. Articles will be obtained through two sources: author-initiated submissions and invited articles or commentary. Potential contributors who have ideas about a set of three or four papers written from very different perspectives may contact the editor with their ideas for feedback.