Working memory, number sense and arithmetical performance: Relations between these domains

Luciana Vellinho Corso (1) , Beatriz Vargas Dorneles (1)

1 School of Education - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Studies correlating working memory, number sense and arithmetical performance show controversial results which create the need for further investigation. This research aims to verify the relationship between two working memory components (central executive and phonological loop) and numerical competence assessed through two different tasks: the Number Knowledge Test and the School Achievement Test. It involved 79 Brazilian students from 4 th to 7 th year of elementary school. The results suggest a significant correlation between the central executive and number sense. The same relationship was observed for the arithmetical performance. The phonological component showed no significant correlation with number sense nor arithmetical performance. The educational implications of the study are pointed out.

Keywords: Working memory; number sense; arithmetical performance

Domains: Mathematics [math]; Humanities and Social Sciences

Luciana Vellinho Corso, Beatriz Vargas Dorneles. Working memory, number sense and arithmetical performance: Relations between these domains. CERME 10, Feb 2017, Dublin, Ireland. ⟨hal-01873482⟩