Department of Educational Sciences, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
Dev Sci. 2018 Jul;21(4):e12623. doi: 10.1111/desc.12623. Epub 2017 Oct 26.
Finger counting is widely considered an important step in children's early mathematical development. Presumably, children's ability to move their fingers during early counting experiences to aid number representation depends in part on their early fine motor skills (FMS). Specifically, FMS should link to children's procedural counting skills through consistent repetition of finger-counting procedures. Accordingly, we hypothesized that (a) FMS are linked to early counting skills, and (b) greater FMS relate to conceptual counting knowledge (e.g., cardinality, abstraction, order irrelevance) via procedural counting skills (i.e., one-one correspondence and correctness of verbal counting). Preschool children (N = 177) were administered measures of procedural counting skills, conceptual counting knowledge, FMS, and general cognitive skills along with parent questionnaires on home mathematics and fine motor environment. FMS correlated with procedural counting skills and conceptual counting knowledge after controlling for cognitive skills, chronological age, home mathematics and FMS environments. Moreover, the relationship between FMS and conceptual counting knowledge was mediated by procedural counting skills. Findings suggest that FMS play a role in early counting and therewith conceptual counting knowledge.
手指计数被广泛认为是儿童早期数学发展的重要步骤。据推测，儿童在早期计数体验中移动手指的能力有助于数字表示，这部分取决于他们早期的精细运动技能（FMS）。具体来说，FMS 应该通过手指计数程序的一致重复与儿童的程序性计数技能联系起来。因此，我们假设 (a) FMS 与早期计数技能有关，(b) 更大的 FMS 通过程序性计数技能（即一一对应和口头计数的正确性）与概念性计数知识（例如，基数、抽象、顺序无关）相关。我们对 177 名学龄前儿童进行了程序性计数技能、概念性计数知识、FMS 和一般认知技能的测试，并对家长进行了家庭数学和精细运动环境的问卷调查。在控制认知技能、年龄、家庭数学和 FMS 环境后，FMS 与程序性计数技能和概念性计数知识相关。此外，FMS 与概念性计数知识之间的关系受程序性计数技能的中介。研究结果表明，FMS 在早期计数和概念性计数知识中发挥作用。
