Training symbolic magnitude comparison skills is a speculative route to improving multiplication fact retrieval, especially for children with dyscalculia¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 2 studies (2 associational), q3 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

Based on the finding that symbolic magnitude comparison was the strongest unique predictor of multiplication fact performance, the authors speculate that poor numerical magnitude comparison skills may underlie dyscalculics' difficulties retrieving multiplication facts, and that "training (symbolic) magnitude comparison skills might lead to better multiplication fact retrieval abilities in dyscalculics". They explicitly state this is speculative and that training studies are needed to test the claim.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Training studies are needed before the approach can be recommended as validated

Constraints¶

• The article labels the implication speculative; no intervention was tested in this study

Target Learners¶

• fourth graders
• children with developmental dyscalculia

Target Learning Goals¶

• multiplication fact retrieval

Claims¶

• Numerical magnitude comparison explains significant unique variance in multiplication fact performance over and above phonological processing, intellectual ability, and general reaction time [+W]
• Symbolic magnitude comparison contributes more unique variance to fourth graders' multiplication fact performance than nonsymbolic magnitude comparison [+W]
• Both numerical magnitude processing tasks correlate positively with arithmetic fact retrieval, more strongly for symbolic [+W]
• Symbolic numerical magnitude processing is a powerful unique predictor of arithmetic fact retrieval [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Use magnitude-based number line games as candidate interventions for improving mental multi-digit subtraction

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Schleepen TMJ, Van Mier HI, De Smedt B (2016) The Contribution of Numerical Magnitude Comparison and Phonological Processing to Individual Differences in Fourth Graders' Multiplication Fact Ability. PLoS ONE 11(6): e0158335. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158335