Page 91 - Children’s mathematical development and learning needs in perspective of teachers’ use of dynamic math interviews

Role of executive functioning in mathematical development
test frequently used in Dutch education to measure speeded arithmetic skill (arithmetic fluency). The test consists of four categories of 50 fact problems: addition (tasks with a range of difficulty level from 6 + 0 to 29 + 28), subtraction (range from 4 – 2 to 84 – 38), multiplication (range from 4 x 1 to 5 x 9), and division (range from 8 : 2 to 72 : 9). Children are given 2 minutes to solve as many problems as possible within a given category. Each correct answer yields 1 point, for a total of 50 possible points per category and a total possible score of 200. The number of problems answered correctly for each category was adopted as the domain score. The total for four domains was used in the analyses. The test was administered at the start of grade 4. And the reliability and validity of testing was judged to be good (α = .88; De Vos, 2010), in the present study α = .92.
Predictor measures (start grade 4)
Visuospatial updating. The Dot Matrix and Backward Dot Matrix subtests from the Alloway Working Memory Assessment (AWMA) were used to assess so-called visuospatial updating (Alloway, 2012; Van Berkel & Van der Zwaag, 2015). The AWMA is an online assessment tool for use with children 9 to 17 years of age, the Dot Matrix is a span task that calls upon visuospatial updating. In the Dot Matrix, the child is required to watch a red dot in a sequence of locations on a four-by-four square matrix on a computer screen. The child is then asked to indicate the sequential order of locations of the red dot on a blank square on the computer screen. The number of red dots presented increases from one to nine red dots on subsequent trials and had to be recalled in the order they were presented. In the Backward Dot Matrix subtest, sets of three geometrical shapes arranged in three square frames are presented. The respondent must identify the odd-one-out shape by pointing to it and then must memorize its location (left, middle, or right). Following presentation of one or more sets of three shapes (i.e., a block composed of a minimum of one and maximum of seven sets of three shapes), the locations of the odd-one-out shapes must be recalled in the same order as presented. The subtest starts with a block containing one set of shapes and increases to a block containing seven sets of shapes. When a child made three or more mistakes within a block, the test
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