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Short‐term numerosity training promotes symbolic arithmetic in children with developmental dyscalculia: The mediating role of visual form perception
Author(s) -
Cheng Dazhi,
Xiao Qing,
Cui Jiaxin,
Chen Chuansheng,
Zeng Jieying,
Chen Qian,
Zhou Xinlin
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
developmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.801
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1467-7687
pISSN - 1363-755X
DOI - 10.1111/desc.12910
Subject(s) - numerosity adaptation effect , dyscalculia , dictation , psychology , cognition , perception , working memory , cognitive training , audiology , short term memory , visual perception , numerical cognition , arithmetic , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , dyslexia , computer science , reading (process) , mathematics , medicine , speech recognition , neuroscience , political science , law
Studies have shown that numerosity‐based arithmetic training can promote arithmetic learning in typically developing children as well as children with developmental dyscalculia (DD), but the cognitive mechanism underlying this training effect remains unclear. The main aim of the current study was to examine the role of visual form perception in arithmetic improvement through an 8‐day numerosity training for DD children. Eighty DD children were selected from four Chinese primary schools. They were randomly divided into the intervention and control groups. The intervention group received training on an apple‐collecting game, whereas the control group received an English dictation task. Children's cognitive and arithmetic performances were assessed before and after training. The results showed that the intervention group showed a significant improvement in arithmetic performance, approximate number system (ANS) acuity, and visual form perception, but not in spatial processing and sentence comprehension. The control group showed no significant improvement in any cognitive ability. Mediation analysis further showed that training‐related improvement in arithmetic performance was fully mediated by the improvement in visual form perception. The results suggest that short‐term numerosity training enhances the arithmetic performance of DD children by improving their visual form perception.