Working Memory Functioning in Children With Poor Mathematical Skills
Relationships to IQ–Achievement Discrepancy and Additional Reading and Spelling Difficulties
Abstract
Previous research on working memory (WM) in children with poor mathematical skills has yielded heterogeneous results, possibly due to inconsistent consideration of the IQ–achievement discrepancy and additional reading and spelling difficulties. To examine the impact of both, the WM of 68 average-achieving and 68 low-achieving third-graders in mathematics was assessed. Preliminary analyses showed that poor mathematical skills were associated with poor WM. Afterwards, children with isolated mathematical difficulties were separated from those with additional reading and spelling difficulties. Half of each group fulfilled the IQ–achievement discrepancy, resulting in a 2 (additional reading and spelling difficulties: yes/no) by 2 (IQ–achievement discrepancy: yes/no) factorial design. Analyses revealed that not fulfilling the IQ–achievement discrepancy was associated with poor visual WM, whereas additional reading and spelling difficulties were associated with poor central executive functioning in children fulfilling the IQ–achievement discrepancy. Therefore, WM in children with poor mathematical skills differs according to the IQ–achievement discrepancy and additional reading and/or spelling difficulties.
References
2010). Investigating the predictive roles of working memory and IQ in academic attainment. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 106, 20–29. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2009.11.003
(2007). Working memory deficit in children with mathematical difficulties: A general or specific deficit? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 96, 197–228. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2006.10.001
(1986). Working memory. Oxford, UK: University Press.
(1996). Exploring the central executive. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49, 5–28. doi: 10.1080/713755608
(2007). Weingartener Grundwortschatz Rechtschreib-Test für 2. und 3. Klassen (WRT 2+)
([Weingarten’s spelling test of basic vocabulary for second and third grade] . Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe.2010). Statistik für Human- und Sozialwissenschaftler
([Statistics for researchers in human and social sciences] . Berlin, Germany: Springer.2014). Numerical magnitude processing deficits in children with mathematical difficulties are independent of intelligence. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35, 2603–2613. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2014.06.022
(1999). Exploring the roles of the visual-spatial sketch pad and central executive in children’s arithmetical skills: Views from cognition and developmental neuropsychology. Developmental Neuropsychology, 15, 421–442. doi: 10.1080/87565649909540759
(2011). Learning disabilities: Debates on definitions, causes, subtypes, and responses. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 58, 75–87. doi: 10.1080/1034912X.2011.548476
(1997). Culture Fair Test – Grundintelligenztest Skala 1 (CFT 1)
([Culture Fair Intelligence Test, Scale 1] . Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe.2010). The cognitive profile of Chinese children with mathematics difficulties. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 107, 260–279. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2010.04.016
(2013). Explaining psychological statistics. New York, NY: Wiley.
(2005). Exploring working memory in children with low arithmetical achievement. Learning and Individual Differences, 15, 189–202. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2005.01.002
(2013). Working memory in children with reading disabilities and/or mathematical disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 46, 461–472. doi: 10.1177/0022219412455238
(2011). Internationale Klassifikation psychischer Störungen: ICD-10 Kapitel V (F); Diagnostische Kriterien für Forschung und Praxis/Weltgesundheitsorganisation
([WHO: Tenth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases, Chapter V (F): Mental and Behavioural Disorders. Diagnostic Criteria for Research] . Bern, Switzerland: Huber.2008). Prevalence of combined reading and arithmetic disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41, 460–473. doi: 10.1177/0022219408321128
(2013). Prävalenz von Lernschwächen und Lernstörungen: Zur Bedeutung der Diagnosekriterien
([Prevalence of poor learners and children with learning disorders: Investigating the role of diagnostic criteria] . Lernen und Lernstörungen, 2, 65–76. doi: 10.1024/2235-0977/a0000352013). Working memory and mathematics in primary school children: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 10, 29–44. doi: 10.1016/j.edurev.2013.05.003
(1999). Numerical and arithmetical cognition: Patterns of functions and deficits in children at risk for a mathematical disability. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 74, 213–239. doi: 10.1006/jecp.1999.2515
(2006). Lernstörungen: Eine kritische Skizze zur Epidemiologie
([Learning disabilities: A critical sketch on epidemiology] . Kindheit und Entwicklung, 15, 208–215. doi: 10.1026/0942-5403.15.4.2082012). Arbeitsgedächtnistestbatterie für Kinder von 5 bis 12 Jahren (AGTB 512.)
([Working Memory Test Battery for Children Ages Five to Twelve] . Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe.2004). Deutscher Mathematiktest für zweite Klassen (DEMAT 2+)
([German test for mathematical skills in second grade] . Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe.2013). Dyskalkulie vs. Rechenschwäche: Basisnumerische Verarbeitung in der Grundschule
([Dyscalculia vs. severe math difficulties: Basic numerical capacities in elementary school] . Lernen und Lernstörungen, 2, 229–247. doi: 10.1024/2235-0977/a0000442008). Visuospatial working memory in adolescents with poor performance in mathematics: Variation depending on reading skills. Educational Psychology, 28, 273–289. doi: 10.1080/01443410701532305
(2009). Dyslexia and dyscalculia: Two learning disorders with different cognitive profiles. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 103, 309–324. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2009.03.006
(2010). Comorbidity of learning disorders: Prevalence and familial transmission. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51, 287–294. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02164.x
(2006). Ein Leseverständnistest für Erst- bis Sechstklässler (ELFE 1–6)
([A reading comprehension test for first to sixth graders] . Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe.1995). Visuo-spatial working memory. Hove, UK: Erlbaum.
(2009). Working memory functioning in children with learning disabilities: Does intelligence make a difference? Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 53, 3–10. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2008.01105.x
(2011). Working memory in children with learning disabilities: Rethinking the criterion of discrepancy. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 58, 5–17. doi: 10.1080/1034912X.2011.547335
(1999). Working memory impairments in children with specific arithmetic learning difficulties. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 74, 240–260.
(2013). Age differences and measurement invariance of working memory in 5- to 12-year-old children. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 29, 220–229. doi: 10.1027/1015-5759/a000149
(2007). Cognitive characteristics of children with mathematics learning disability (MLD) vary as a function of the cutoff criterion used to define MLD. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40, 458–478. doi: 10.1177/00222194070400050901
(2006). Working memory and arithmetic learning disability. In T. P. AllowayS. E. GathercoleEds., Working memory and neurodevelopmental disorders (pp. 113–138). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
(2012). Selective spatial working memory impairment in a group of children with mathematics learning disabilities and poor problem-solving skills. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 45, 341–350. doi: 10.1177/0022219411400746
(2001). Short-term memory, working memory, and inhibitory control in children with difficulties in arithmetic problem solving. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 80, 44–57. doi: 10.1006/jecp.2000.2626
(2012). Phonological storage and executive function deficits in children with mathematics difficulties. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 112, 452–466. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2012.04.004
(2010). Working memory and mathematics: A review of developmental, individual difference, and cognitive approaches. Learning and Individual Differences, 20, 110–122. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2009.10.005
(2009). Dysfunctional neural network of spatial working memory contributes to developmental dyscalculia. Neuropsychologia, 47, 2859–2865. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.06.009
(2008). Working memory deficits in children with specific learning disorders. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41, 514–523. doi: 10.1177/0022219408317856
(2010). Unterscheiden sich Subgruppen rechengestörter Kinder in ihrer Arbeitsgedächtniskapazität, im basalen arithmetischen Faktenwissen und in den numerischen Basiskompetenzen?
([Do dyscalculia subgroups differ in their working memory, basic arithmetical knowledge and numerical competencies?] . Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie, 42, 217–225. doi: 10.1026/0049-8637/a0000222006). Math disabilities: A selective meta-analysis of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 76, 249–274. doi: 10.3102/00346543076002249
(2005). Working memory in Dutch children with reading- and arithmetic-related LD. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38, 207–221. doi: 10.1177/00222194050380030301
(1993). The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural disorders: Diagnostic criteria for research (10th ed.). Geneva, Switzerland: Author.
. (