title: Learning Mathematics in a Visuospatial Format: A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Mental Abacus Instruction.
abstract: Mental abacus (MA) is a technique of performing fast, accurate arithmetic using a mental image of an abacus; experts exhibit astonishing calculation abilities. Over 3 years, 204 elementary school students (age range at outset: 5-7 years old) participated in a randomized, controlled trial to test whether MA expertise (a) can be acquired in standard classroom settings, (b) improves students' mathematical abilities (beyond standard math curricula), and (c) is related to changes in basic cognitive capacities like working memory. MA students outperformed controls on arithmetic tasks, suggesting that MA expertise can be achieved by children in standard classrooms. MA training did not alter basic cognitive abilities; instead, differences in spatial working memory at the beginning of the study mediated MA learning.
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Diego.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Barner
authors.affiliation: Harvard University.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.affiliation: Skidmore College.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.affiliation: Harvard University.
authors.forename: Neon
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.affiliation: University of California, Berkeley.
authors.forename: Mahesh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Srinivasan
authors.affiliation: Stanford University.
authors.forename: Michael C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Frank
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics / Q000193:education*; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D065852:Spatial Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D013663:Teaching