Finger Counting Boosts Math Skills in Kindergarteners, New Study Reveals

Summary: A new study shows that teaching finger counting strategies to kindergarteners who don’t naturally use them can significantly improve their addition skills, potentially reducing inequity in early mathematics education.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

A new study published in Child Development has found that explicitly teaching finger counting strategies to kindergarten-aged children can dramatically improve their arithmetic performance. This research, conducted by scientists at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and Lea.fr, Editions Nathan in Paris, France, challenges some educators’ views that finger counting indicates struggle with math concepts.

The Power of Fingers in Early Math Education

The study focused on 328 five and six-year-old kindergarteners in France, testing their abilities to solve simple addition problems. Researchers discovered that children who were taught to use finger counting strategies showed a remarkable improvement in their math performance.

Dr. Catherine Thevenot from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Lausanne, who led the study, explained the motivation behind the research: “The idea originated from conversations with primary school teachers. They often asked me whether they should encourage or discourage children from using their fingers to solve calculations.”

The results were striking. Children who didn’t originally use finger counting and were trained in the technique saw their correct responses increase from 37% to 77%. In contrast, the control group only improved from 40% to 48%.

Breaking Down the Study

The research was conducted in several phases:

Pre-test to assess initial addition skills
Two-week training period for the experimental group
Immediate post-test
Delayed post-test to check for long-term effects

This comprehensive approach allowed researchers to observe both immediate improvements and the longevity of the learned skills.

Dr. Thevenot expressed surprise at the magnitude of improvement: “When I first saw the results, I was amazed by the huge improvement in performance among children who didn’t initially use their fingers to solve the problems.”

Implications for Education and Equity

The findings of this study have significant implications for early mathematics education. Researchers suggest that teaching finger counting strategies could help reduce inequity among children in mathematics, as it provides a concrete, physical method for understanding abstract numerical concepts.

However, the study also raises new questions. Dr. Thevenot noted, “An important question now is to determine whether what we taught to children goes beyond a mere procedure to solve the problems. In other words, we want to know whether our intervention led to a deeper conceptual understanding of numbers.”

The Debate on Finger Counting

The use of finger counting in mathematics education has been a subject of debate among educators and researchers. Some view it as a sign of struggling with math concepts, while others see it as an indication of advanced numerical knowledge.

This study provides concrete evidence that, at least for kindergarten-aged children, finger counting can be a powerful tool for improving math skills. It challenges the notion that finger counting should be discouraged in early education.

Looking Ahead

While the results are promising, the researchers acknowledge that more work needs to be done. About 25% of the children in the study didn’t respond as well to the intervention, prompting questions about how to support these learners.

Future research will focus on determining whether the benefits of finger counting training extend beyond procedural knowledge to a deeper understanding of numerical concepts. Initial results in this direction are described as “very promising” by the research team.

Quiz

What percentage of correct responses did trained children who originally didn’t use finger counting achieve in the post-test?
How many kindergarteners participated in the main study?
Who led the research team for this study?

Answers:

77%
328
Dr. Catherine Thevenot from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Lausanne