Improvement in Math Ability and Cognitive Processing in Children with Low Attention: An Intervention Based on PASS Theory

Dan Cai; Yongjing Ge; Lingling Wang; Ada W S Leung

doi:10.3390/jintelligence12090083

Improvement in Math Ability and Cognitive Processing in Children with Low Attention: An Intervention Based on PASS Theory

J Intell. 2024 Aug 29;12(9):83. doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12090083.

Authors

Dan Cai¹, Yongjing Ge^{1

2}, Lingling Wang¹, Ada W S Leung^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China.
² Huangpu Experimental Primary School Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200020, China.
³ Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G4, Canada.
⁴ Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada.

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of math training on math and cognitive performance among 8-9 year-old students with low attention. Fifty-six students with low attention were randomly assigned to a training group (n = 24) and a passive control group (n = 32). They completed math problem-solving, calculation fluency and PASS cognitive processing tests both before and after training. The children in the training group received 3 days of training per week for a total of 21 days using the math modules of The Children's Mathematics and Cognition Training Manual in Chinese. The results showed that the training group's math problem-solving performance improved significantly. Moreover, the cognitive performance on the CAS-2 in the planning and simultaneous processing tests for the training group was enhanced. The implications of these findings are discussed with consideration of the interpretability being constrained by the fact that no active control condition was applied.

Keywords: PASS theory; low attention; math modules; math training.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation of China (grant number 32471113), the Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning and the Shanghai Shuguang Program of the Shanghai Education Development Foundation and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (grant number 20SG45).