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09:00 - 10:30
Parallel sessions 1
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09:00 - 10:30
Room: HSZ - N1
Chair/s:
Seyma Nur Ertekin, Mathieu Zaugg
Working memory (WM) is central to human cognition, underpinning a wide range of complex cognitive functions. Many daily activities, like reading or following a conversation, depend on it. It is a dynamic system that undergoes substantial changes throughout childhood, and consequently, its interactions with other cognitive systems also evolve. Understanding the effects of WM development is therefore essential for elucidating broader cognitive growth. 
This symposium brings together researchers investigating the development of working memory in childhood through complementary perspectives, ranging from large-scale adaptive data modeling to experimental and eye-tracking approaches.
In this symposium, we will first target the question of how WM capacities develop and to what extent WM is necessary for developing mathematical abilities in primary school children. In the second part, we will focus on proactive functioning, that is, the capacity to anticipate and prepare ourselves for a task. We will discuss when it emerges in WM, how it develops across ages, and how to assess the presence or absence of proactive strategies. Finally, we will discuss the links between the sensorimotor system and WM, by presenting the effect of a body movement-based strategy on WM performance. 
Collectively, these insights will offer a comprehensive and diverse overview, unified by a shared emphasis on the mechanisms and developmental trajectories of working memory in childhood.
Submission 189
The Roles of Non-Symbolic and Symbolic Numerical Skills and Working Memory for Mathematical Skills in Primary School
SymposiumTalk-02
Presented by: Vroni Hischa
Vroni Hischa 1, Frank Niklas 2, Korbinian Moeller 3, 4
1 Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt, Germany
2 Department of Psychology, University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
3 Department of Mathematics Education, Loughborough University, Louhborough, United Kingdom
4 LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
The development of mathematical skills is influenced by both domain-specific numerical as well as domain-general cognitive skills such as working memory. However, so far, their contributions to mathematical skills have hardly been investigated jointly within one comprehensive study. Hence, the present study intended to evaluate the specific contributions of non-symbolic and symbolic numerical skills and working memory to mathematical skills and potential developmental changes across primary school years. A total of 486 children from first to fourth grade (between 6 and 11 years of age) were assessed on (non-)symbolic magnitude comparison, approximate addition, number line estimation, WM, general cognitive ability, and their mathematical skills. Based on the results of a multi-group path model, number line estimation was a significant predictor of mathematical skills in all four grade levels. Working memory was a significant predictor of mathematical skills in third and fourth grade, while general cognitive ability was a significant predictor of mathematical skills in first, third, and fourth grade. Pairwise comparisons of path coefficients indicated contributions of number line estimation were significantly stronger in third than in first and second grade. Taken together, these results suggest that symbolic and working memory, but not non-symbolic numerical skills, significantly contribute to the development of mathematical skills in primary school years. This may reflect the impact of formal mathematics instruction.