TY - JOUR
T1 - Pathways to fraction learning
T2 - Numerical abilities mediate the relation between early cognitive competencies and later fraction knowledge
AU - Ye, Ai
AU - Resnick, Ilyse
AU - Hansen, Nicole
AU - Rodrigues, Jessica
AU - Rinne, Luke
AU - Jordan, Nancy C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - The current study investigated the mediating role of number-related skills in the developmental relationship between early cognitive competencies and later fraction knowledge using structural equation modeling. Fifth-grade numerical skills (i.e., whole number line estimation, non-symbolic proportional reasoning, multiplication, and long division skills) mapped onto two distinct factors: magnitude reasoning and calculation. Controlling for participants’ (N = 536) demographic characteristics, these two factors fully mediated relationships between third-grade general cognitive competencies (attentive behavior, verbal and nonverbal intellectual abilities, and working memory) and sixth-grade fraction knowledge (concepts and procedures combined). However, specific developmental pathways differed by type of fraction knowledge. Magnitude reasoning ability fully mediated paths from all four cognitive competencies to knowledge of fraction concepts, whereas calculation ability fully mediated paths from attentive behavior and verbal ability to knowledge of fraction procedures (all with medium to large effect sizes). These findings suggest that there are partly overlapping, yet distinct, developmental pathways from cognitive competencies to general fraction knowledge, fraction concepts, and fraction procedures.
AB - The current study investigated the mediating role of number-related skills in the developmental relationship between early cognitive competencies and later fraction knowledge using structural equation modeling. Fifth-grade numerical skills (i.e., whole number line estimation, non-symbolic proportional reasoning, multiplication, and long division skills) mapped onto two distinct factors: magnitude reasoning and calculation. Controlling for participants’ (N = 536) demographic characteristics, these two factors fully mediated relationships between third-grade general cognitive competencies (attentive behavior, verbal and nonverbal intellectual abilities, and working memory) and sixth-grade fraction knowledge (concepts and procedures combined). However, specific developmental pathways differed by type of fraction knowledge. Magnitude reasoning ability fully mediated paths from all four cognitive competencies to knowledge of fraction concepts, whereas calculation ability fully mediated paths from attentive behavior and verbal ability to knowledge of fraction procedures (all with medium to large effect sizes). These findings suggest that there are partly overlapping, yet distinct, developmental pathways from cognitive competencies to general fraction knowledge, fraction concepts, and fraction procedures.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jecp.2016.08.001
DO - 10.1016/j.jecp.2016.08.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 27572521
AN - SCOPUS:84983759359
SN - 0022-0965
VL - 152
SP - 242
EP - 263
JO - Journal of experimental child psychology
JF - Journal of experimental child psychology
ER -