In the fall, kindergartners from 21 classrooms in four urban schools were randomly formed into trios and taught either mathematics or early literacy or social studies, or six types of complex patterns. Measures of mathematics, early literacy, executive functions (EF), and understanding of complex patterns were collected in late spring. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the early literacy measures, one measure of inhibition, and both mathematics measures comprised one factor. Another inhibition measure, cognitive flexibility, working memory, patterning, and the computation mathematics measure comprised another factor. The correlations obtained and the factor analysis distinguish the cognitive and achievement measures and show the relations between them.
Bjorklund, C., & Pramling, N. (2014). Pattern Discernment and Pseudo-Conceptual Development in Early Childhood Mathematics Education. International Journal of Early Years Education, 22, 89-104. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2013.809657
Bock, A. B., Cartwright, K. B., McKnight, P. E., Patterson, A. B., Shriver, A. S., Leaf, B. M., Mohtasham, M. K., Vennergrund, K. C., & Pasnak, R. (2018). Patterning, Reading, and Executive Functions. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1802. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01802
Cartwright, K. B. (2002). Cognitive Development and Reading: The Relation of Reading-Specific Multiple Classification Skill to Reading Comprehension in Elementary School Children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 56-63. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.94.1.56
Chasiotis, A., Kiessling, F., Hofer, J., & Campos, D. (2006). Theory of Mind and Inhibitory Control in Three Cultures: Conflict Inhibition Predicts False Belief Understanding in Germany, Costa Rica and Cameroon. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30, 249-260. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025406066759
Clements, D. H., & Sarama, J. (2011). Early Childhood Mathematics Intervention. Science, 333, 968-970. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1204537
Cohen, J. (1992). A Power Primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 155-159.
Collins, M. A., & Laski, E. V. (2015). Preschoolers’ Strategies for Solving Visual Pattern Tasks. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 32, 204-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.04.004
Connolly, A. J. (2007). KeyMath-3 Diagnostic Assessment: Manual Forms A and B. Minneapolis, MN: Pearson.
Dubon, L. P., & Shafer, K. G. (2010). Teaching Children Mathematics. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 16, 325-329.
Economopoulos, K. (1998). What Comes Next? The Mathematics of Pattern in Kindergarten. Teaching Children Mathematics, 5, 230-234.
Ferrara, F., & Sinclair, N. (2016). An Early Algebra Approach to Pattern Generalization: Actualizing the Virtual through Words, Gestures and Toilet Paper. Education Study Mathematics, 92, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-015-9674-3
Fyfe, E. R., Evans, J. L., Matz, L. E., Hunt, K. M., & Alibali, M. W. (2017). Relations between Patterning Skill and Differing Aspects of Early Mathematics Knowledge. Cognitive Development, 44, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2017.07.003
Fyfe, E. R., McNeil, N. M., & Rittle-Johnson, B. (2015). Easy as ABCABC: Abstract Language Facilitates Performance on a Concrete Patterning Task. Child Development, 86, 927-935. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12331
Good, R. H., Kaminski, R. A., Shinn, M., Bratten, J., Shinn, M., Laimon, L., Smith, S., & Flindt, N. (2004). Technical Adequacy and Decision Making Utility of DIBELS (Technical Report No. 7). Eugene, OR: University of Oregon.
Kaminski, R. A., & Good, R. H. (1996). Toward a Technology for Assessing Basic Early Literacy Skills. School Psychology Review, 25, 215-227.
Kaminski, R. A., & Good, R. H. (1998). Assessing Early Literacy Skills in a Problem Solving Model: Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. In M. R. Shinn (Ed.), Advanced Applications of Curriculum-Based Measurement (pp. 113-142). New York: Guilford.
Kaufman, A. S., & Kaufman, N. L. (2014). Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (3rd ed.). Bloomington, MN: Pearson.
Kessels, R. P. C., van Zandvoort, M. J. E., Postma, A., Kappelle, L. J., & de Haan, E. H. F. (2000). The Corsi Block-Tapping Task: Standardization and Normative Data. Applied Neuropsychology, 7, 252-258. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15324826AN0704_8
Kidd, J. K., Carlson, A., Gadzichowski, K. M., Boyer, C. E., Gallington, D. A., & Pasnak, R. (2013). Effects of Patterning Instruction on the Academic Achievement of 1st-Grade Children. Journal of Research on Childhood Education, 27, 224-238. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2013.766664
Kidd, J. K., Pasnak, R., Gadzichowski, K. M., Gallington, D. A., McKnight, P., Boyer, C. E., & Carlson, A. (2014). Instructing First-Grade Children on Patterning Improves Reading and Mathematics. Early Childhood Development, 25, 134-151. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2013.794448
Laimon, D. E. (1994). The Effects of a Home-Based and Center-Based Intervention on at Risk Preschool Children’s Early Literacy Skills. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Eugene, OR: University of Oregon.
MacKay, K. J., & De Smedt, B. (2019). Patterning Counts: Individual Differences in Children’s Calculation Are Uniquely Predicted by Sequence Patterning. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 177, 152-165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2018.07.016
Marston, D., & Magnusson, D. (1988). Curriculum-Based Measurement: District Level Implementation. In J. Graden, J. Zins, & M. Curtis (Eds.), Alternative Educational Delivery Systems: Enhancing Instructional Options for All Students (pp. 137-172). Washington, DC: National Association of School Psychology.
McGarvey, L. M. (2012). What Is a Pattern? Criteria Used by Teachers and Young Children. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 14, 310-337. https://doi.org/10.1080/10986065.2012.717380
Miller, M. R., Rittle-Johnson, B., Loehr, A. M., & Fyfe, E. R. (2015). The Influence of Relational Knowledge and Executive Function on Preschoolers’ Repeating Pattern Knowledge. Journal of Cognition and Development, 17, 85-104. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2015.1023307
Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., & Wager, T. (2000). The Unity and Diversity of Executive Functions and Their Contributions to Complete “Frontal Lobe” Tasks: A Latent Variable Analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41, 49-100. https://doi.org/10.1006/cogp.1999.0734
Mohtasham, M. K., Patterson, A. B., Vennergrund, K. C., Chen, E. S., & Pasnak, R. (2018). Emotional Competence, Behavioural Patterning, and Executive Functions. Early Child Development and Care, 188, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2017.1403434
Mulligan, J. (2011). Towards Understanding the Origins of Children’s Difficulties in Mathematics Learning. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, 16, 19-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/19404158.2011.563476
Mulligan, J. T., Mitchelmore, M. C., Kemp, C., Marston, J., & Highfield, K. (2008). Encouraging Mathematical Thinking through Pattern and Structure: An Intervention in the First Year of Schooling. Macquarie University Research Online. http://www.aamt.edu.au/
Mulligan, J., & Mitchelmore, M. C. (2009). Awareness of Pattern and Structure in Early Mathematical Development. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 21, 33-49. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03217544
Mulligan, J., Woolcott, G., Mitchelmore, M. C., & Davis, B. (2017). Connecting Mathematics Learning through Spatial Reasoning. Mathematics Education Research, 30, 77-87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-017-0210-x
Murray, J., Scott, H., Connolly, C., & Wells, A. (2018). The Attention Training Technique Improves Children’s Ability to Delay Gratification: A Controlled Comparison with Progressive Relaxation. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 104, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2018.02.003
National Association for the Education of Young Children/National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Education (2002/2010). Early Childhood Mathematics Education: Promoting Good Beginnings. Washington DC: NYAEC.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1993). Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics Addenda Series, Grades K-6. Reston, VA: NCTM.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000). Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. Reston, VA: NCTM.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2006). Curriculum Focal Points for Prekindergarten through Grade 8 Mathematics: A Quest for Coherence. Reston, VA: NCTM.
Nguyen, T., Watts, T. W., Duncan, G. J., Clements, D. H., Sarama, J. S., Wolfe, C., & Spitler, M. E. (2016). Which Preschool Mathematics Competences Are Most Predictive of Fifth Grade Achievement? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 36, 550-560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2016.02.003
Papic, M. (2007). Promoting Repeating Patterns with Young Children-More than Just Alternating Colors! Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 12, 8-12.
Papic, M. (2013). A Mathematics Intervention: The Case of 4-Year-Old Rylan and Hilda! Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 106, 92-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.012
Papic, M. (2015). An Early Mathematical Patterning Assessment: Identifying Young Australian Indigenous Children’s Patterning Skills. Mathematics Education Research, 27, 519-534. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-015-0149-8
Papic, M., Mulligan, J. T., & Mitchelmore, M. C. (2011). Assessing the Development of Preschoolers’ Mathematical Patterning. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 42, 237-268. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.42.3.0237
Pasnak, R., Hansbarger, A., Dodson, S., Hart, J., & Blaha, J. (1996). Differential Results of Instruction at the Preoperational-Concrete Operational Transition. Psychology in the Schools, 33, 70-83.
Pasnak, R., Kidd, J. K., Gadzischowski, K. M., Gallington, D. A., Schmerold, K. L., & West, H. (2015). Abstracting Sequences: Reasoning That Is a Key to Academic Achievement. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 176, 171-193. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.2015.1024198
Ponitz, C. C., McClellan, M. M., Matthews, J. S., & Morrison, F. J. (2009). A Structured Observation of Behavioural Self-Regulation and Its Contribution to Kindergarten Outcomes. Developmental Psychology, 45, 605-619. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015365
Richardson, K., Berenson, S., & Staley, K. (2009). Prospective Elementary Teachers’ Use of Representation to Reason Algebraically. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 28, 188-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmathb.2009.09.002
Rittle-Johnson, B., Fyfe, E. R., Hofer, K. G., & Farran, D. C. (2016). Early Math Trajectories: Low-Income Children’s Mathematics Knowledge from Ages 4 to 11. Child Development, 88, 1727-1742. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12662
Rittle-Johnson, B., Fyfe, E. R., Loehr, A. M., & Miller, M. R. (2015). Beyond Numeracy in Preschool: Adding Patterns to the Equation. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 31, 101-112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.01.005
Rittle-Johnson, B., Fyfe, E. R., McLean, L. E., & McEldoon, K. L. (2013). Emerging Understanding of Patterning in 4-Year-Olds. Journal of Cognition and Development, 14, 376-396. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2012.689897
Sarama, J., & Clements, D. (2009a). Early Childhood Mathematics Education Research: Learning Trajectories for Young Children. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203883785
Sarama, J., & Clements, D. H. (2009b). Building Blocks and Cognitive Building Blocks: Playing to Know the World Mathematically. American Journal of Play, 1, 313-337. http://www.journalofplay.org/
Schmerold, K., Bock, A., Peterson, M., Leaf, B., Vennergrund, K., & Pasnak, R. (2017). The Relations between Patterning, Executive Function, and Mathematics. The Journal of Psychology, 151, 207-228. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2016.1252708
Shriver, A., Lauderdale, L., Yassa, M., Schroeder, E., Chen, E., Schabinger, E., Righi, M., & Pasnak, R. (2017). The Effects of in-Class Tutoring of Kindergarteners on Patterning, Reading, or Mathematics. Journal of Education and Human Development, 6, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.15640/jehd.v6n1a1
Torgesen, J. K., Wagner, R. K., & Rashotte, C. A. (2012). Test of Word Reading Efficiency Second Edition (TOWRE-2). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Warren, E., & Cooper, T. (2008). Generalizing the Pattern Rule for Visual Growth Patterns: Actions that Support 8 Years Olds’ Thinking. Education Study Mathematics, 67, 171-185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-007-9092-2
Warren, E., & Miller, J. (2013). Young Australian Indigenous Students’ Effective Engagement in Mathematics: The Role of Language, Patterns, and Structure. Mathematic Education Research Journal, 25, 151-171. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-013-0068-5
Wechsler, D. (2009). Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (3rd ed.). San Antonio, TX: NCS Pearson.
Wechsler, D. (2014). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (5th ed.). Bloomington, MN: Pearson.