Ilona Friso-van den Bos

University of Twente | UT · Department of Educational Science

Types of mathematical learning disability (MLD) are very heterogeneous. Lower scores on mathematics and several cognitive skills have been revealed in samples with MLD compared with those with typical development (TD), but these studies vary in sample selection, making it difficult to generalize conclusions. Furthermore, many studies have investiga...

Number sense and working memory contribute to mathematical development throughout primary school. However, it is still unclear how the contributions of each of these predictors may change across development and whether the cognitive contribution is the same for children with and without mathematical difficulties. The aim of the two studies in this...

Working memory (WM) is an important predictor for academic learning and achievement. Typically, children’s WM is assessed in controlled testing situations, which might not reflect functioning in typical classroom learning situations with natural distractions. In this study, we compared WM performance in controlled and classroom situations and their...

Children’s early numerical capacities form the building blocks for later arithmetic proficiency. Linear number placements and counting skills are indicative of mapping, as an important precursor to arithmetic skills, and have been suggested to be of vital importance to arithmetic development. The current study investigated whether fostering mapping...

Research has identified various domain‐general and domain‐specific cognitive abilities as predictors of children's individual differences in mathematics achievement. However, research into the predictors of children's individual growth rates, namely between‐person differences in within‐person change in mathematics achievement is scarce. We assessed...

Dyscalculia, or mathematics learning disability, has received growing attention in recent years. Working memory and number sense are hypothesized to form important determinants of dyscalculia, but longitudinal assessments of number sense in children with or at-risk for dyscalculia are scarce. The current study investigated number line development i...

Children’s ability to relate number to a continuous quantity abstraction visualized as a number line is widely accepted to be predictive of mathematics achievement. However, a debate has emerged with respect to how children’s placements are distributed on this number line across development. In the current study, different models were applied to ch...

Samenvatting Dit artikel beschrijft een eerste try-out van de ‘Digitale Toets Omgeving’ (DTO). Deze DTO wordt ontwikkeld in het kader van het FaSMEd project, een Europees project waarin onderzoek wordt gedaan naar het gebruik van ICT bij formatief toetsen. Deze manier van toetsen is bedoeld om leerkrachten aanwijzingen te geven voor het nemen van d...

In the current study, the factor structure of number sense, or the ability to understand, use, and manipulate numbers, was investigated. Previous analyses yielded little consensus concerning number sense factors, other than a distinction between nonsymbolic and symbolic processing. Furthermore, associations between number sense factors and working...

The present study aims to examine relations between number representations and various sources of individual differences within early stages of development of number representations. The mental number line has been found to develop from a logarithmic to a more linear representation. Sources under investigation are counting skills and executive func...

Working memory, including central executive functions (inhibition, shifting and updating) are factors thought to play a central role in mathematical skill development. However, results reported with regard to the associations between mathematics and working memory components are inconsistent. The aim of this meta-analysis is twofold: to investigate...

Executive functions are regarded as strong and reliable predictors of mathematical skill in primary school children. A small body of research has reported similar associations between executive functions and number sense in children, as an early indicator of mathematical skill. However, studies are scarce and results are inconsistent. In the curren...

Past research has found strong evidence for a mental number line that develops from a logarithmic to a more linear representation. The present study aims to examine the sources of individual differences associated with this development. Sources under investigation are age, gender, counting skills and executive functioning, and are set out against m...