A new study from Switzerland provides exciting insights: over 75 percent of kindergarten children do better at math when they use their fingers to help them. Find out why finger arithmetic is so effective and how it supports children’s cognitive development.
A recent study in Switzerland has shown that kindergarten children aged five to six are significantly better at calculating when they use their fingers to help them. This has important implications for the development of numeracy skills in the early years of education and could promote long-term understanding of mathematical concepts.
The importance of finger calculation
The research, led by Catherine Thevenot of the University of Lausanne’s Institute of Psychology, found that deliberate training in finger counting significantly improved math performance in over 75 percent of the children surveyed. This finding provides a concrete answer to a long-standing pedagogical question: Should teachers actively encourage the use of fingers when doing math? The study’s answer is a resounding yes.
The researchers found that finger counting is not just a simple mnemonic aid, but also an important means of promoting abstract thinking. Young children who use their fingers to count on their own have already reached a level of abstraction that enables them to represent quantities in different ways. This ability is an important indicator of their cognitive development
Differences in response to finger counting
Interestingly, the study also showed that about 25 percent of children did not respond as well to finger counting. For these children, it is important to develop alternative methods to foster their mathematical abilities. The next phase of research will therefore focus on how to better support this group.
Long-term implications
The results of this study are not only important for early childhood education, but also for children’s long-term mathematical development. Previous studies have shown that children who actively use their fingers to do calculations at the age of five to six years generally do not have any mathematical difficulties. Only from the age of eight onwards could an over-reliance on finger calculations indicate potential challenges in mathematics lessons.
Educational recommendations
Based on the findings of the study, educators and parents should be encouraged to actively integrate finger counting into the daily lives of preschoolers. This can be done through simple counting games or targeted exercises that encourage children to use their fingers as countable units.
In summary, this research shows that finger counting is not just a temporary aid, but an essential part of children’s cognitive development that can lead to better math performance in the long term. The findings of the study could therefore significantly contribute to the development of new pedagogical approaches that optimally support children in the early years of education.
