Performance across different areas of mathematical cognition in children with learning difficulties.

摘要

The performance of second-grade children was examined on several tasks assessing different areas of mathematical cognition (i.e., basic calculation, approximate calculation, problem solving, and understanding of place value and skill in written computation). The study included 53 children who had difficulties in mathematics but not in reading (MD-only), 52 children who had difficulties in mathematics and reading (MD/RD), 50 children who had difficulties in reading but not in mathematics (RD-only), and 55 children who had normal achievement (NA). Children with RD-only performed about as well as NA children on the experimental mathematics tasks. Although both MD groups performed worse than the control groups across all areas of mathematical cognition, the MD-only group showed a distinct advantage over the MD/RD group in exact calculation of arithmetic combinations and in problem solving. The two groups did not differ in approximate calculation, calculation principles, and understanding of place value and written computation. The findings suggest that children with MD-only have an advantage over children with MD/RD in areas of mathematical cognition that are mediated by language but not in areas that rely on numerical magnitudes, visuo-spatial processing, or automaticity.