Newman Sharlene D, Loughery Erin, Ecklund Ambur, You Cindy, Von Werder Hannah, Soylu Firat
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University; Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University.
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University.
Trends Neurosci Educ. 2021 Mar;22:100146. doi: 10.1016/j.tine.2020.100146. Epub 2020 Nov 22.
Block play is one type of intervention that improves visuospatial skills. There are multiple forms of block play and it is unclear whether they have differential cognitive effects.
Given the importance of visuospatial skills for mathematical performance, we studied the differential impact of two types of block playstructured (copying a block design) and free (building from imagination) on arithmetic processing, using behavioral and fMRI methods. Forty-three children aged 8.3±0.8 years participated (21 free play and 22 structured block play).
Results showed that while both groups showed behavioral improvements, only the structured block play group showed significant improvements in both addition and subtraction performance. Additionally, the structured block play group showed increased activation in several regions linked to memory, motor, and arithmetic processing after training.
The results inform choices for activities used in the classroom to improve visuospatial skills and suggest structured block play may be beneficial for arithmetic processing.
积木游戏是一种可提高视觉空间技能的干预方式。积木游戏有多种形式，目前尚不清楚它们是否具有不同的认知效果。
鉴于视觉空间技能对数学成绩的重要性，我们采用行为学和功能磁共振成像方法，研究了两种积木游戏——结构化（复制积木设计）和自由式（凭想象搭建）对算术运算的不同影响。43名8.3±0.8岁的儿童参与了研究（21名进行自由游戏，22名进行结构化积木游戏）。
结果显示，虽然两组儿童的行为表现均有改善，但只有结构化积木游戏组在加法和减法运算成绩上有显著提高。此外，经过训练后，结构化积木游戏组在与记忆、运动和算术运算相关的几个脑区的激活增强。
这些结果为课堂上用于提高视觉空间技能的活动选择提供了参考，并表明结构化积木游戏可能对算术运算有益。
