This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Why do some students become ever better at mathematics, while others plateau? Many people may think that mathematics is primarily about cognitive skills.
A new study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) provides a more nuanced view. The paper is published in the journal Contemporary Educational Psychology. "Our findings suggest that intrinsic motivation is more important than working memory for whether a student improves in mathematics," says Astrid Hoås Morin, an associate professor at NTNU's Department of Education and Lifelong Learning.
Hoås Morin, the study's first author, and colleagues have looked at whether students' motivation or working memory matters most for improving in mathematics over time. The foundation for the study was data from the long-standing Trondheim Early Secure Study (TESS) project. The researchers in this study used information from participants who were between 8 and 16 years old.
They also used a new approach to analysis that allowed them to distinguish stable differences between students from changes that occurred in individual students. This allowed them to examine not only who does best in mathematics, but also what factors appear to be related to further development. Working memory is the mental notebook we use when we need to keep several things in our heads at the same time.
In mathematics, for example, working memory could involve remembering numbers, rules and intermediate calculations while solving a problem. Working memory also has a strong influence on how students fare in math. The students who are the sharpest often have good working memory.
But working memory is not that easy to modify. "Working memory is more about stable differences between students than about what drives further development," says Hoås Morin. Students who currently have good working memory often continue to have relatively good working memory later in life.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
