Ensuring that kindergarten children have a solid foundation in early numerical knowledge is of critical importance for later mathematical achievement. In this study, we targeted improving the numerical knowledge of kindergarteners (n = 81) from primarily low-income backgrounds using two approaches: one targeting their conceptual knowledge, specifically, their understanding of numerical magnitudes; and the other targeting their underlying cognitive system, specifically, their working memory. Both interventions involved playing game-like activities on tablet computers over the course of several sessions. As predicted, both interventions improved children’s numerical magnitude knowledge as compared to a no-contact control group, suggesting that both domain-specific and domain-general interventions facilitate mathematical learning. Individual differences in effort during the working memory game, but not the number knowledge training game predicted children’s improvements in number line estimation. The results demonstrate the potential of using a rapidly growing technology in early childhood classrooms to promote young children’s numerical knowledge.

Low-income preschoolers have lower average performance on measures of early numerical skills than middle-income children. The present study examined the effectiveness of numerical card games in improving children's numerical and executive functioning skills. Low-income preschoolers (N=76) were randomly assigned to play a numerical magnitude comparison card game, a numerical memory and matching card game, or a shape and color matching card game across four 15-minute sessions. Child who played either of the numerical games improved their numeral identification skills, while only children who played the numerical magnitude comparison game improved their symbolic magnitude comparison skills. These improvements were maintained eight weeks later. The results suggest that a brief, low-cost intervention can successfully improve the numerical skills of low-income children. Keywords numerical knowledge; executive functioning; early mathematics; low-income; interventionsChildren from low-income households have lower performance on average on a range of educational outcomes than children from middle-and upper-income households. In the domain of mathematics, studies have documented income-based performance gaps before the start of formal schooling, appearing as significant differences in children's foundational numeracy skills like counting, recognizing written numerals, and comparing the magnitudes of numbers (Jordan, Kaplan, Olah, & Locuniak, 2006;Starkey, Klein, & Wakeley, 2004). These early numeracy skills lay the foundation for children's later understanding of arithmetic (Geary, Hoard, & Hamson, 1999) and predict children's mathematical achievement years later in third and fifth grades (Duncan et al., 2007;Watts, Duncan, Siegler, & Davis-Kean, 2014). Consequently, there is a need for developmentally appropriate resources that can be used by early childhood educators and parents to target children's early numeracy skills.Previous studies have demonstrated significant gains in preschool children's early skills after brief, play-based numeracy interventions (e.g.

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Preschoolers from low-income households lag behind preschoolers from middle-income households on numerical skills that underlie later mathematics achievement. However, it is unknown whether these gaps exist on parallel measures of symbolic and non-symbolic numerical skills. Experiment 1 indicated preschoolers from low-income backgrounds were less accurate than peers from middle-income backgrounds on a measure of symbolic magnitude comparison, but they performed equivalently on a measure of non-symbolic magnitude comparison. This suggests activities linking non-symbolic and symbolic number representations may be used to support children's numerical knowledge. Experiment 2 randomly assigned low-income preschoolers (Mean Age = 4.7 years) to play either a numerical magnitude comparison or a numerical matching card game across four 15 min sessions over a 3-week period. The magnitude comparison card game led to significant improvements in participants' symbolic magnitude comparison skills in an immediate posttest assessment. Following the intervention, low-income participants performed equivalently to an age-and gender-matched sample of middle-income preschoolers in symbolic magnitude comparison. These results suggest a brief intervention that combines non-symbolic and symbolic magnitude representations can support low-income preschoolers' early numerical knowledge.

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