Associations of 3-year-olds’ Block-building Complexity with Later Spatial and Mathematical Skills

Bower, Corinne A.; Odean, Rosalie; Verdine, Brian N.; Medford, Jelani R.; Marzouk, Maya; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick; Hirsh‐Pasek, Kathy

doi:10.1080/15248372.2020.1741363

Cited by 24 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…First, there were some reports that block building interventions benefit children's spatial talk, spatial reasoning, and math outcomes. This is consistent with previous research demonstrating associations between early block play, spatial skills, and math (Bower et al, 2020;Mix et al, 2016;Mix & Cheng, 2012;. There were also reports that math-based interventions benefit children's math outcomes, consistent with findings from previous reviews and meta-analytic data (Carbonneau et al, 2013;Holmes, 2013;Lafay et al, 2019).…”

Section: Evidence Related To Effectivenesssupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Early spatial experiences are also thought to impact children's school readiness . Early play with PMs like building blocks positively predicts later math achievement in school (Wolfgang et al, 2001(Wolfgang et al, , 2003, and young children's block building complexity is associated with their concurrent spatial and math skills (Bower et al, 2020). There is also a well-established relationship between young children's spatial cognition and math ability (Casey et al, 2012;Clements & Sarama, 2008;Gunderson et al, 2012;Mix et al, 2016;Mix & Cheng, 2012;.…”

Section: The Developmental Benefits Of Early Object Playmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Educational interventions involving physical manipulatives for improving children’s learning and development: a scoping review

Byrne¹,

Ramchandani²

2022

Preprint

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WHY DID WE DO THIS RESEARCH?Hands-on learning activities with physical objects – or physical manipulatives (PMs) – can be great at encouraging children’s active participation in learning. Cast your mind back to your own childhood: do you remember using items like counters, shapes, or fraction bars in school? If so, you were using PMs! We wanted to find out what kind of research has been done on educational programmes involving PMs.WHAT DID WE DO?We conducted a scoping review – a type of literature review used to identify and broadly describe a body of research according to certain inclusion criteria. We searched several academic databases for studies that have tested the effectiveness of PM interventions with primary-age children; 102 studies met our inclusion criteria and were synthesised in the review.WHAT DID WE FIND?Most studies involved children between 4-6 years in school settings. They spanned 26 different countries, but almost all took place in high- or middle-income contexts, typically the USA. The interventions involved different PMs and hands-on activities (e.g., block building, shape sorting, paper folding), and evidence relating their effectiveness was mixed. Whilst some studies reported benefits to children’s math, spatial, or literacy skills, others did not, and many were hindered by methodological shortcomings. This means we must be cautious when drawing conclusions about the overall effectiveness of PM interventions. Nevertheless, the findings illustrate the many ways hands-on experiences with PMs can facilitate children’s active engagement in learning. Going forward, higher quality research is needed, as well as more studies testing PM interventions in lower-income contexts.

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Section: Evidence Related To Effectivenesssupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: The Developmental Benefits Of Early Object Playmentioning

confidence: 99%

Educational interventions involving physical manipulatives for improving children’s learning and development: a scoping review

Byrne¹,

Ramchandani²

2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moreover, in the multiple-regression model, the significant main effect of spatial skill and interaction between spatial language comprehension and spatial skill performance in predicting mathematics performance, along with findings from previous work that support a longitudinal association between children’s spatial skill and mathematics performance (e.g., Bower, Odean, et al, 2020), prompted a larger, exploratory moderated mediation model. This larger moderated mediation model examined the potential of spatial language comprehension to act as a tool to further develop and connect spatial skills to mathematical learning by bolstering spatial and quantitative-relational reasoning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…B. Sample items from the two-dimensional trials of the Test of Spatial Assembly (2D TOSA; Bower et al, 2020). C. Sample items from the three-dimensional trials of the TOSA (3D TOSA; Bower et al, 2020).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Three-year-olds’ spatial language comprehension and links with mathematics and spatial performance.

Bower

Foster

Zimmermann

et al. 2020

Developmental Psychology

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Early spatial skills predict the development of later spatial and mathematical skills. Yet, it is unclear how comprehension of the words that capture spatial relations, words like behind and under, might be associated with children’s early spatial and mathematics skills. The current study addressed this question by conducting a moderated mediation model to test the potential moderating effects of group factors, such as socioeconomic status (SES) and gender, on the possible mediation of spatial language comprehension on the association between spatial skill and mathematics performance. In total, 192 3-year-olds were tested on a battery of assessments, including a novel Spatial Language Comprehension Task, a test of spatial skills (2- and 3-dimensional trials of the Test of Spatial Assembly [2D and 3D TOSA, respectively]), and a composite of 2 mathematical assessments. The results indicate that this novel Spatial Language Comprehension Task is a reliable measure useful for examining group differences and the early space–math link. Specifically, higher-SES preschoolers and females had higher spatial language comprehension compared with their lower-SES peers and males, respectively. These SES and gender disparities in spatial language comprehension are concerning, given the strong association between spatial language comprehension and mathematics skills. Additionally, spatial language comprehension mediated the association between spatial skill and mathematics performance for females only. Future work should examine the potential causal role that spatial language comprehension may have in concurrent and later spatial and mathematics skills.

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Educational interventions involving physical manipulatives for improving children's learning and development: A scoping review

Byrne

Jensen

Thomsen

et al. 2023

Review of Education

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Physical manipulatives (PMs) are concrete objects used during hands‐on learning activities (e.g., building blocks, fraction tiles, counters), and are widely used in primary‐school teaching, especially during maths instruction. This scoping review collated studies that have examined the effectiveness of educational PM interventions with pre‐primary and primary‐age children. A total of 102 studies met the inclusion criteria and were synthesised in the review. Most studies included a sample of children aged 4–6 years and were conducted in a school setting. They spanned 26 different countries, but almost all took place in high‐ or middle‐income contexts, mainly in the USA. Interventions were grouped into three main learning domains: maths, literacy and science. Considerable heterogeneity was identified across the review studies in terms of the PMs and hands‐on activities used (e.g., block building, shape sorting, paper folding, enactment with figurines). Evidence relating to effectiveness of the intervention programmes was synthesised, with the most promising findings identified in the maths domain. Benefits to children's spatial, literacy and science skills were also reported. Overall, however, the evidence was mixed: other studies found that PMs were not associated with learning benefits, and many were hindered by methodological shortcomings. This calls for caution when drawing conclusions about the overall effectiveness of PM interventions. Nevertheless, the findings illustrate the many ways hands‐on PM activities can be incorporated into children's early learning experiences. Recommendations for further research and for using PMs in practice are made. Context and implicationsRationale for this studyPhysical manipulatives (PMs) are used during hands‐on learning activities and promote children's active involvement in learning. The review sought to map a broad range of interventions using PMs.Why the new findings matterFindings reveal gaps in the research and highlight the many facets to consider when developing and testing educational interventions using PMs.Implications for practitionersRecommendations for using PMs in practice: (a) choose materials and activities that are age‐appropriate and focused on the learning goal; (b) consider the type and amount of instructional guidance needed (adjusted based on learning content and children's needs); and (c) consider the level of physical interaction afforded by PMs and activities and its importance for the learning goal.

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Associations of 3-year-olds’ Block-building Complexity with Later Spatial and Mathematical Skills

Cited by 24 publications

References 52 publications

Educational interventions involving physical manipulatives for improving children’s learning and development: a scoping review

Educational interventions involving physical manipulatives for improving children’s learning and development: a scoping review

Three-year-olds’ spatial language comprehension and links with mathematics and spatial performance.

Educational interventions involving physical manipulatives for improving children's learning and development: A scoping review

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