Refining the quantitative pathway of the Pathways to Mathematics model

Carla Sowinski; Jo-Anne LeFevre; Sheri-Lynn Skwarchuk; Deepthi Kamawar; Jeffrey Bisanz; Brenda Smith-Chant

doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2014.11.004

Refining the quantitative pathway of the Pathways to Mathematics model

J Exp Child Psychol. 2015 Mar:131:73-93. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2014.11.004. Epub 2014 Dec 15.

Authors

Carla Sowinski¹, Jo-Anne LeFevre², Sheri-Lynn Skwarchuk³, Deepthi Kamawar², Jeffrey Bisanz⁴, Brenda Smith-Chant⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B61, Canada. Electronic address: carla.sowinski@carleton.ca.
² Department of Psychology and Institute of Cognitive Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B61, Canada.
³ Faculty of Education, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9, Canada.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 0N4, Canada.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada.

PMID: 25521665
DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2014.11.004

Abstract

In the current study, we adopted the Pathways to Mathematics model of LeFevre et al. (2010). In this model, there are three cognitive domains--labeled as the quantitative, linguistic, and working memory pathways--that make unique contributions to children's mathematical development. We attempted to refine the quantitative pathway by combining children's (N=141 in Grades 2 and 3) subitizing, counting, and symbolic magnitude comparison skills using principal components analysis. The quantitative pathway was examined in relation to dependent numerical measures (backward counting, arithmetic fluency, calculation, and number system knowledge) and a dependent reading measure, while simultaneously accounting for linguistic and working memory skills. Analyses controlled for processing speed, parental education, and gender. We hypothesized that the quantitative, linguistic, and working memory pathways would account for unique variance in the numerical outcomes; this was the case for backward counting and arithmetic fluency. However, only the quantitative and linguistic pathways (not working memory) accounted for unique variance in calculation and number system knowledge. Not surprisingly, only the linguistic pathway accounted for unique variance in the reading measure. These findings suggest that the relative contributions of quantitative, linguistic, and working memory skills vary depending on the specific cognitive task.

Keywords: Cognitive ability; Linguistic skills; Mathematics; Numeracy; Quantitative skills; Working memory.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Achievement
Child
Child Development*
Cognition*
Female
Humans
Linguistics*
Male
Mathematics*
Memory, Short-Term*
Models, Psychological*