The Effect of Inhibitory Control on General Mathematics Achievement and Fraction Comparison in Middle School Children

Autor/inn/en	Gómez, David Maximiliano; Jiménez, Abelino; Bobadilla, Roberto; Reyes, Cristián; Dartnell, Pablo
Titel	The Effect of Inhibitory Control on General Mathematics Achievement and Fraction Comparison in Middle School Children
Quelle	In: ZDM: The International Journal on Mathematics Education, 47 (2015) 5, S.801-811 (11 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1863-9690
DOI	10.1007/s11858-015-0685-4
Schlagwörter	Mathematics Education; Inhibition; Mathematics Achievement; Secondary School Mathematics; Middle School Students; Mathematics Skills; Foreign Countries; Number Concepts; Task Analysis; Accuracy; Prediction; Visual Stimuli; Priming; Learning Processes; Grade 5; Grade 6; Grade 7; Chile + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Mathematische Bildung; Hemmung; Mathmatics sikills; Mathmatics achievement; Mathematical ability; Mathematische Kompetenz; Middle school; Middle schools; Student; Students; Mittelschule; Mittelstufenschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Mathematics ability; Ausland; Number concept; Zahlbegriff; Aufgabenanalyse; Vorhersage; Learning process; Lernprozess; School year 05; 5. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 05; School year 06; 6. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 06; School year 07; 7. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 07
Abstract	Individual differences in inhibitory control have been shown to relate to general mathematics achievement, but whether this relation varies for specific areas within mathematics is a question that remains open. Here, we evaluate if inhibitory processes play a specific role in the particular case of fraction comparison, where learners must ignore the potentially misleading information provided by the natural numbers composing fractions (e.g. 2/3 > 4/7 despite 2 < 4 and 3 < 7). To do this, we presented a sample of Chilean children (N = 450) from 5th, 6th, and 7th grade with a numerical comparison task tapping inhibitory and other processes. Results showed that both general math achievement and accuracy in comparing fractions were significantly predicted by inhibition. The former association, however, turned out to mediate the latter one. Another process, related to visual priming, predicted children's likelihood to answer fraction comparison items focusing exclusively on the fraction components. This relation was, furthermore, not mediated by general math achievement. Altogether, these findings shed light on the mental processes underlying the early stages of the learning of fractions. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01