Training early visuo-spatial abilities: A controlled classroom-based intervention study

ABSTRACT

Visuo-spatial training is considered a promising approach to provide young children with a sound foundation for later mathematical learning. We developed and implemented a tablet-based visuo-spatial intervention in kindergarten classrooms aiming to foster the development of children’s visuo-spatial and numerical abilities. A sample of N = 125 children participated in the present study, 68 children were part of the intervention group and participated in 20 training sessions of 20 min over a 10-week period, 57 children formed a business as usual control group. Results show that, at this young age, visuo-spatial and early math skills are already strongly interlinked. However, the training effects were domain-specific as they only improved visuo-spatial skills, but did not transfer to early math performance in the present setting.

Acknowledgments

The manuscript is based on data collected in the context of V. Cornu’s PhD thesis. A manuscript based on the same database, but with a different focus and different analyses, has been submitted to the Journal of Numerical Cognition.

The authors thank all the children, their parents, and their teachers who nicely agreed to take part in the present study. Furthermore, the authors thank Yanica Reichel and Nuno de Matos for their assistance during data collection.