COMPUTER TRAINING OF APPROXIMATE NUMBER SYSTEM COULD IMPROVE MATH ABILITIES|教育干预数据集|数学能力提升数据集

The number of students diagnosed with Specific Learning Disabilities with Math (SLDwM) has been estimated to be 6%. These students face daily challenges related to their disability and as a result have a reduced quality of life. The triple code theory developed by Dehaene (1992) explores the issue of number representation, which is split into three codes: verbal, visual and semantic. The semantic code belongs to the preverbal system in which the Approximate Number System (ANS) plays an important role. In a previous study we have shown that ANS and math disability are causally related. These findings, demonstrated with a short ANS test applied to 50 students (7-11 years old) from three schools in Bucharest, Romania, support the hypothesis of a correlation between low ANS performances and low math ability. However, according to Park & Brannon (2013,) training on approximate addition and subtraction of arrays of dots improves the appropriate symbolic skills. This study describes a computer game with 62 arrays (ratios from 1:2 to 9:10) which can improve appropriate math abilities. Each array of the computer game (i.e., ANS - 62), consists of 4 to 30 images of identical familiar objects (e.g., apples, ice-creams, balloons) of varying sizes. Shrek and Puss in Boots (i.e., two characters well known to children in Romania) divide the objects in ratios from 1:2 to 9:10. Each of the numerosities comparison is presented for 2000 ms and the students indicate the character that has more objects by pressing the key associated with respective character. We hypothesize that the daily use of this game by children at risk for SLDwM, together with other types of interventions directed at memory or visual-spatial orientation, will help improve their ANS. Through this improvement, students can develop their Number Sense and the ability to manipulate symbolic and non-symbolic quantities.