Abstract
Cognitive abilities as well as math fluency play an important role in mathematical skills. Understanding the relationship between cognitive abilities and mathematical skills is imperative to teaching effective arithmetic skills. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between cognitive ability and math fluency with 38 first and second grade elementary aged children. Results demonstrate that preoperational children lacked the speed of concrete operational children but achieved comparable levels of accuracy when completing arithmetic problems.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Billington, E. J., & Skinner, C. H. (2002). Getting students to choose to do more work: Evidence of the interspersal procedure. Journal of Behavioral Education, 11, 105–106.
Binder, C. (1990). Precision teaching and curriculum-based measurement. Journal of Precision Teaching, 7(2), 33–35.
Binder, C. (1996). Behavioral fluency: Evolution of a new paradigm. The Behavioral Analyst, 19, 163–197.
Bisanz, J., & Lefevre, J. (1992). Understanding elementary mathematics. In J. I. D. Campbell (Ed.), The nature and origins of mathematical skills (pp. 113–136). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Cates, G. L., & Rhymer, K. N. (2003). Examining the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance: An instructional hierarchy perspective. Journal of Behavioral Education, 12, 23–34.
Dahaene, S. (1997). The number sense: How the mind creates mathematics. New York: Oxford University.
Delazer, M., Domahs, F., Bartha, L., Brenneis, C., Locky, A., Treib, T., & Benke, T. (2003). Learning complex arithmetic-an fMRI study. Cognitive Brain Research, 18, 76–88.
Dowker, A. (1998). Individual differences in normal arithmetical development. In C. Donlan (Ed.), The development of mathematical skills (pp. 275–302). Hove, England: Psychology Press.
Floyd, R. G., Evans, J. J., & McGrew, K. S. (2003). Relations between measures of cattell-horn-cattell (CHC) cognitive abilities and mathematics achievement across the school-age years. Psychology in Schools, 40, 155.
Gersten, R., Jordan, N. C., & Flojo, J. R. (2005). Early identification and intervention for students with mathematics difficulties. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38, 293–304.
Hasselbring, T. S., Goin, L. I., & Bransford, J. D. (1988). Developing math automaticity in learning handicapped children: The role of computerized drill and practice. Focus on Exceptional Children, 20, 1–73 .
Hartnedy, S. L., Mozzoni, M. P., & Fahoum, Y. (2005). The effect of fluency training on math and reading skills in neuropsychiatric diagnosis children: A multiple baseline design. Behavioral Interventions. Special Issue: Traumatic Brain Injury, 20, 27–36.
Haughton, E. C. (1980). Practicing practices: Learning by activity. Journal of Precision Teaching, 1, 2–30.
Haughton, E. C. (1972). Aims: Growing and sharing. In J. B. Jordan, & L. S. Robbings (Eds.), Let’s try doing something else kind of things (pp. 20–39). Arlington, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.
Ivarie, J. J. (1986). Effects of proficiency rates on later performance of a recall and writing behavior. Remedial & Special Education, 7, 25–30.
Klein, J. S., & Bisanz, J. (2000). Preschoolers doing arithmetic: The concepts are willing but the working memory is weak. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 54, 105–116.
Lindsley, O. R. (1996). Is fluency free-operant response-response chaining? The Behavior Analyst, 19, 211–224.
Lovett, M. W. (1987). A developmental approach to reading disability: Accuracy and speed criteria of normal and deficient reading skill. Child Development, 58, 234–260.
Martini, R. (2004). Metacognitive processes underlying psychomotor performance in children identified as high skilled, average, and having developmental coordination disorder (pp. 1–192). Montreal, Quebec: McGill University.
Mccallum, E. (2006). The taped-problems intervention: Increasing multiplication fact fluency using a low-tech delay intervention. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. 67(9-A), 2007, pp. 3300.
Mullis, et al. (2001). Mathematics benchmarking report. TIMSS 1999-Eight grade: Achievement for U.S. states and districts in an international context. Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College. Retrieved from http://timss.bc.edu.
National Council Of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.
National Council Of Teacher of Mathematics. (2006). Curriculum focal points for prekindergarten through grade 8 mathematics: A quest for coherence. Reston, VA: Author.
Pellegrino, J. W., & Goldman, S. R. (1987). Information processing and elementary mathematics. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 20, 23–32, 57.
Pellegrino, J. W., & Goldman, S. R. (1989). Mental chronometry and individual differences in cognitive processes: Common pitfalls and their solutions. Learning and Individual Differences, 1, 203–225.
Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1969). The psychology of the child. New York: Basic Books.
Poncy, B. C., & Skinner, C. H. (2006). Implementation guidelines: Detect, practice, and repair: The effects of a classwide intervention on elementary students’ math-fact fluency. Journal of Evidence-Based Practices for Schools, 7, 69–72.
Poncy, B. C., Skinner, C. H., & Jaspers, K. E. (2007). Evaluating and comparing interventions designed to enhance math fact accuracy and fluency: Cover, copy, and compare versus taped problems. Journal of Behavioral Education, 16(1), 27–37.
Rivera-Batiz, F. L. (1992). Quantitative literacy and the likelihood of employment among young adults in the United States. Journal of Human Resources, 27, 313–328.
Rourke, B., & Conway, J. (1997). Disabilities of arithmetic and mathematical Reasoning: Perspectives from neurology and neuropsychology. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30, 34–46.
Siegel, L. S. (1988). Evidence that IQ scores are irrelevant to the definition and analysis of reading disability. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 42, 201–215.
Singer-Dudek, J., & Greer, R. D. (2005). A long-term analysis of the relationship between fluency and the training and maintenance of complex math skills. Psychological Record, 55, 361–376.
Starlin, A. (1972). Sharing a message about curriculum with my teacher friends. In J. B. Jordan, & L. S. Robbins (Eds.), Let’s try doing something else kind of thing (pp. 13–19). Arlington, VA: Council on Exeptional Children.
Sweeney, S. R., Sweeney, W. J., & Malanga, P. (2001). The effects of one minute warm up procedures on addition one minute fluency timings. Journal of Precision Teaching & Celeration, 17, 76–88.
Therrien, W. J. (2004). Fluency and comprehension gains as a result of repeated reading. Remedial and Special Education, 25, 252–261.
Wadsworth, B. J. (1996). Piaget’s theory of cognitive and affective development. White Plains, NY: Longman.
Widaman, K. F., & Little, T. D. (1992). The development of skill in mental Arithmetic: An individual differences perspective. In J. I. D. Campbell (Ed.), The nature and origins of mathematical skills (pp. 189–253). New York: Elsevier.
Woodcock, R. W., McGrew, K. S., & Mather, N. (2001). Woodcock-Johnson III. Itasca, IL: Riverside Publishing.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ramos-Christian, V., Schleser, R. & Varn, M.E. Math Fluency: Accuracy Versus Speed in Preoperational and Concrete Operational First and Second Grade Children. Early Childhood Educ J 35, 543–549 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-008-0234-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-008-0234-7