Development of Cognitive Abilities through the Abacus in Primary Education Students: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Autor/inn/en	León, Samuel P.; Carcelén Fraile, María del Carmen; García-Martínez, Inmaculada
Titel	Development of Cognitive Abilities through the Abacus in Primary Education Students: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Quelle	In: Education Sciences, 11 (2021), Artikel 83 (14 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (León, Samuel P.) ORCID (García-Martínez, Inmaculada)
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2227-7102
Schlagwörter	Cognitive Development; Manipulative Materials; Elementary School Students; Mathematics Activities; Intervention; Attention Control; Memory; Student Attitudes; Creative Thinking; Arithmetic; Mental Computation; Foreign Countries; Spain + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Kognitive Entwicklung; Hilfsmittel; Aufmerksamkeitstest; Gedächtnis; Schülerverhalten; Kreatives Denken; Addition; Arithmetik; Arithmetikunterricht; Rechnen; Kopfrechnen; Ausland; Spanien
Abstract	(1) Background: An abacus is an instrument used to perform different arithmetic operations. The objective was to analyze the benefits of mathematical calculations made with an abacus to improve the concentration, attention, memory, perceptive attitudes, and creativity cognitive abilities of primary school students. (2) Methods: A total of 65 children, aged 7-11 years (8.49 ± 1.65) participated in this randomized controlled clinical trial. The children were randomly distributed into a control group (n = 34) and experimental group (n = 31). The questionnaires used were the D2 test to measure attention and concentration, the Difference Perception Test (FACE-R) test for the perception of differences, the test of immediate auditory memory (AIM), and the test to evaluate creative intelligence (CREA). (3) Results: No significant differences were found between both groups before the intervention. Significant improvements were observed in the cognitive parameters of concentration, memory, perceptive attitudes, and creativity after the intervention, using the abacus, with respect to the control group. (4) Conclusions: It is demonstrated that a calculation program based on the use of the abacus for 8 weeks has beneficial effects on the cognitive capacities of concentration, immediate auditory memory, perceptive attitudes, and creativity. In addition, the benefits of using the abacus to improve cognitive attitudes are reported. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	MDPI AG. Klybeckstrasse 64, 4057 Basel, Switzerland. Tel: e-mail: indexing@mdpi.com; Web site: http://www.mdpi.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2022/1/01