Research done on CMA Programme in 2010

Researchers followed 180 CMA students to see how children use hand movements when they do abacus mental arithmetic. Children at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels solved addition and subtraction problems in three ways: with a physical abacus, with free hand movements, and with their hands held still.

The study found that beginners were comfortable with the physical abacus but found mental arithmetic harder. Intermediate learners relied on abacus hand movements to calculate in their heads. Advanced learners could calculate mentally and did just as well without moving their hands. The researchers suggest that, as learners progress, hand movements can complement the mental picture of the abacus.

Funding

It was jointly funded by the National University of Singapore Asia Research Institute and Global Asia Institute (AC-2010-1-004), John E. Fetzer Memorial Trust, John Templeton Foundation, Yonsei University New Faculty Seed Grant, and the Yonsei University Institute of Convergence Science Center for Science and Engineering Applications in Social Science.

Researchers

  • Principal investigator: Dr. So Wing Chee, Psychology/FASS/National University of Singapore (centre)
  • Co-investigator: Dr. Philip Cho, Asia Research Institute/National University of Singapore (standing on left)
  • CMA Founder, Mr. Tay (standing on right)

Reviews

It was reviewed by: Firat Soylu, University of Alabama, United States and Michael S. Dempsey, Boston University, United States

Details of Research on CMA Singapore's students

Findings

  • Abacus gestures promote learning as a physical action.
  • Spontaneous gestures allow learners to grasp complex calculations.
  • Automated motor programs can be executed with little conscious effort or demand on working memory.
  • Learners at different skill levels of mental arithmetic improved in their use of visual strategies.
  • Abacus gestures act as motor programs that complement visual-motor representation.
  • Behavioral and neurophysiological studies indicate that motor and visual spatial learning are two complementary systems.

Awards

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