Examinando por Autor "Meltzoff, Andrew N."

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Math is for me: A field intervention to strengthen math self-concepts in Spanish-speaking 3rd grade children
(Frontiers Media, 2020) Cvencek, Dario; Paz-Albo, Jesús; Master, Allison; Herranz Llácer, Cristina V.; Hervás-Escobar, Aránzazu; Meltzoff, Andrew N.
Children’s math self-concepts—their beliefs about themselves and math—are important for teachers, parents, and students, because they are linked to academic motivation, choices, and outcomes. There have been several attempts at improving math achievement based on the training of math skills. Here we took a complementary approach and conducted an intervention study to boost children’s math self-concepts. Our primary objective was to assess the feasibility of whether a novel multicomponent intervention—one that combines explicit and implicit approaches to help children form more positive beliefs linking themselves and math—can be administered in an authentic school setting. The intervention was conducted in Spain, a country in which math achievement is below the average of other OECD countries. We tested third grade students (N = 180; Mage = 8.79 years; 96 girls), using treatment and comparison groups and pre- and posttest assessments. A novelty of this study is that we used both implicit and explicit measures of children’s math self-concepts. For a subsample of students, we also obtained an assessment of year-end math achievement. Math self-concepts in the treatment and comparison groups did not significantly differ at pretest. Students in the treatment group demonstrated a significant increase in math self-concepts from pretest to posttest; students in the comparison group did not. In the treatment group, implicit math self-concepts at posttest were associated with higher year-end math achievement, assessed approximately 3 months after the completion of the intervention. Taken together, the results suggest that math self-concepts are malleable and that social–cognitive interventions can boost children’s beliefs about themselves and math. Based on the favorable results of this feasibility study, it is appropriate to formally test this novel multicomponent approach for improving math self-concepts using randomized controlled trial (RCT) design.
Preschoolers’ mathematical play and colour preferences: a new window into the development of gendered beliefs about math
(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2017-03-03) Paz-Albo, Jesús; Cvencek, Dario; Herranz Llácer, Cristina V.; Hervás Escobar, Aránzazu; Meltzoff, Andrew N.
In play, children often explore mathematical ideas that are vital for future learning. Children’s play also reveals gender differences in both colour and toy preferences. The authors examined how genderrelated colour preferences of 5-year-olds are related to preferences for math-specific games/toys and gendered beliefs about math. Spanish preschoolers (N = 143) completed a self-report measure of gendered beliefs about math. Children then indicated their favourite colour and were given five math-specific games/toys in that colour. Play times for each game/toy were recorded. Three findings emerged. First, girls preferred games/toys of particular colours (pink/purple) that differed from boys’ preferences (blue/red). Second, play time with math games/toys did not differ between girls and boys. Third, 5-year-olds of both genders thought that girls liked math more than boys did. This is the youngest age at which these gendered beliefs about math have been shown, and suggests new theorizing about stereotypes, gender, and math.