We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Spanish government through its Plan Nacional I+D+i (R+D+i National Research Plan, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness), project ref: PET2008_0225, with the second author as principal investigator; and CONICYT-Chile [FONDECYT REGULAR N&#186; 1191589], with the first author as principal investigator. We also thank the Unidad de Audiovisuales ULL team for their participation in the production of the video.

This protocol was conducted in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Comit&#233; de &#201;tica de la Investigaci&#243;n y Bienestar Animal (Research Ethics and Animal Welfare Committee, CEIBA), Universidad de La Laguna.
NOTE: The Bater&#237;a multimedia para la evaluaci&#243;n de habilidades cognitivas y b&#225;sicas en matem&#225;ticas [Multimedia Battery for Assessment of Cognitive and Basic Skills in Mathematics (BM-PROMA)]61 was developed ...

Children with MLD are at risk not only of academic failure but also of psycho-emotional and health disorders8,9 and, later on, of employment deprivation4,5. Thus, it is crucial to diagnose MLD promptly in order to provide the educational support that these children need. However, diagnosing MLD is complex due to the multiple domain-specific and domain-general skill deficits that underlie the disorder<sup ...

One of the crucial objectives of primary education is the acquisition of mathematical skills. This knowledge is highly relevant, as we all use mathematics in our everyday lives, for example, to calculate change given at the supermarket1,2. As such, the consequences of poor mathematical performance go beyond the academic. At the social level, a strong prevalence of poor mathematical performance within the population constitutes a cost to society. There is evidence that improvement of poor numerical skills in the population leads to significant savings for a country3. There are also negative consequences at an individual level. For example, those who show a low level of mathematical skills present poor professional development (e.g., higher rates of employment in poorly paid manual occupations and higher unemployment)4,5,6, frequently report negative socio-emotional responses towards academics (e.g., anxiety, low motivation towards academics)7, 8, and tend to present poorer mental and physical health than their peers with average mathematical achievement9. Students with mathematical learning disabilities (MLD) show very poor performance that persists over time10,11,12. As such, they are more likely to suffer the consequences mentioned above, especially if these are not promptly diagnosed13.
MLD is a neurobiological disorder characterized by severe impairment in terms of learning basic numerical skills despite adequate intellectual capacity and schooling14. Although this definition is widely accepted, the instruments and criteria for its identification are still under discussion15. An excellent illustration of the absence of a universal agreement regarding MLD diagnosis is the variety of reported prevalence rates, ranging from 3 to 10%16,17,18,19,20,21. This difficulty in diagnosis stems from the complexity of mathematical knowledge, which requires that a combination of multiple domain-general and domain-specific skills be learned22,23. Children with MLD show very different cognitive profiles, with a broad constellation of deficits14, 24,25,26,27. In this regard, it is suggested that the need for multidimensional assessment by means of tasks involving different numerical representations (i.e., verbal, Arabic, analogic) and arithmetical skills11.
In primary school, symptoms of MLD are diverse. In terms of domain-specific skills, it is consistently found that many MLD students show difficulties in basic numerical skills, such as quickly and accurately recognizing Arabic numerals28,29,30, comparing magnitudes31,32, or representing numbers on the number line33,34. Primary school children have also shown difficulty in understanding conceptual knowledge, such as place value35, arithmetic knowledge36, or ordinality measured through ordered sequences37. Regarding domain-general skills, particular focus has been put on the role of working memory38,39 and language40 in the development of mathematical skills in children with and without MLD. In relation to working memory, the results suggest that students with MLD show a deficit in the central executive, especially when required to manipulate numerical information41,42. A deficit in visuospatial short-term memory has also been frequently reported in children with MLD43,44. Language skills have been found to be a prerequisite for learning numeracy skills, especially those that involve high verbal processing demand7. For example, phonological processing skills [e.g., phonological awareness and Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN)] are closely linked to those basic skills learned in primary school, such as numerical processing or arithmetic calculation39,45,46,47. Here, it has been demonstrated that variations in phonological awareness and RAN are associated with individual differences in numeracy skills that involve managing verbal code42,48. In light of the complex profile of children with MLD, a diagnostic tool should ideally include tasks that assess both domain-general and domain-specific skills, which are reported as being more frequently deficient in these children.
In recent years, several paper-and-pencil screening tools for MLD have been developed. Those most commonly used with Spanish primary school children are a) Evamat-Bater&#237;a para la Evaluaci&#243;n de la Competencia Matem&#225;tica (Battery for the Evaluation of Mathematical Competency)49; b) Tedi-Math: A Test for Diagnostic Assessment of Mathematical Disabilities (Spanish adaptation)50; c) Test de Evaluaci&#243;n Matem&#225;tica Temprana de Utrecht (TEMT-U)51,52, the Spanish version of the Utrecht Early Numeracy Test53; and d) Test of early math abilities (TEMA-3)54. These instruments measure many of the domain-specific skills mentioned above; however, none of them assess domain-general skills. Another limitation of these instruments - and of paper-and-pencil tools in general - is that they cannot provide information regarding the accuracy and automaticity with which each item is processed. This would only be possible with a computerized battery. However, very few applications have been developed for dyscalculia diagnosis. The first computerized tool designed to identify children (aged 6 to 14) with MLD was the Dyscalculia Screener55. A few years later, the web-based DyscalculiUm56 was developed with the same purpose but focused on adults and learners in post-16 education. Although still limited, there has been growing interest in computerized tool design for the diagnosis of MLD in recent years57,58,59,60. None of the tools mentioned have been standardized for Spanish children, and only one of them - the MathPro Test57- includes domain-general skill evaluation. Given the importance of identifying children with low mathematical achievement, especially those with MLD, and in the absence of computerized instruments for the Spanish population, we present a multimedia evaluation protocol that includes both domain-general and domain-specific skills.

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	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Multimedia Battery for Assessment of Cognitive and Basic Skills in Maths</td>
			<td>Universidad de La Laguna</td>
			<td>Pending assignment</td>
			<td>BM-PROMA</td>
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multimedia battery for assessment of cognitive and basic skills in mathematics (bm-proma)

Learning mathematics is a complex process that requires the development of multiple domain-general and domain-specific skills. It is therefore not unexpected that many children struggle to stay at grade level, and this becomes especially difficult when several abilities from both domains are impaired, as in the case of mathematical learning disabilities (MLD). Surprisingly, although MLD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders affecting schoolchildren, most of the diagnostic instruments available do not include assessment of domain-general and domain-specific skills. Furthermore, very few are computerized. To the best of our knowledge, there is no tool with these features for Spanish-speaking children. The purpose of this study was to describe the protocol for the diagnosis of Spanish MLD children using the BM-PROMA multimedia battery. BM-PROMA facilitates the evaluation of both skill domains, and the 12&#160;tasks included for this purpose are empirically evidence-based. The strong internal consistency of BM-PROMA and its multidimensional internal structure are demonstrated. BM-PROMA proves to be an appropriate tool for diagnosing children with MLD during primary education. It provides a broad cognitive profile for the child, which will be relevant not only for diagnosis but also for individualized instructional planning.

In order to test the utility and effectiveness of this diagnostic tool, its psychometric properties were analyzed in a large-scale sample. A total of 933 Spanish primary school students (boys = 508, girls = 425; Mage = 10 years, SD = 1.36) from grade 2 to grade 6 (grade 2, N = 169 [89 boys]; grade 3, N = 170 [89 boys]; grade 4, N = 187 [106 boys]; grade 5, N = 203 [113 boys]; grade 6, N= 204 [110 boys]) participated in the study. The children were ...

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Multimedia Battery for Assessment of Cognitive and Basic Skills in Mathematics BM-PROMA

BM-PROMA is a valid and reliable multimedia diagnostic tool that can provide a complete cognitive profile of children with mathematical learning disabilities.

Multimedia Battery for Assessment of Cognitive and Basic Skills in Mathematics (BM-PROMA)

Learning mathematics is a complex process that requires the development of multiple domain-general and domain-specific skills. It is therefore not ...

Learning mathematics is crucial for our everyday lives. A poor understanding of maths can cause students to struggle in many other subjects. But also, it could limit their further study options as well as their employability when they come to think about career options.Unfortunately, there is a group of children that show severe impairments from the very beginning of school and which persist throughout their life. This group is known as children with mathematical learning disabilities, MLD. Children with MLD must be diagnosed as early as possible in order to receive the educational support that they need.However, diagnosing MLD is difficult due to the multiple domain-general skills and domain-specific skills that underline MLD. Very few tools include both domain skills to diagnose optimally. Particularly, there is not a tool with these characteristics for Spanish-speaking children.We designed Multimedia Battery for assessment of cognitive and basic skills in maths, BM-PROMA, in order to provide a computerized test that will make it possible to diagnose children with MLD, considering a complete cognitive profile. BM-PROMA includes tasks that assess both domain-specific and domain-general skills. Eight tasks, assess domain specific-skills.Missing number, two-digit number comparison, reading numbers, place value, number line 0 to 100 and 0 to 1, 000, arithmetic fact retrieval, and arithmetic principles. And four tasks are related to domain-general skills. Counting span, rapid automatized naming, letter, visuospatial working memory, and phoneme deletion.These tasks are going to be presented as follows. Missing number. In this game, you have to say aloud the name of the missing number.Two, four, six, eight and 10. So the missing number is 10. Now, try it on your own.Ten.Two-digit number comparison. In this game, look carefully at these two numbers. You must choose the biggest number.To do so, you must compare the two numbers and say aloud the name of the biggest one. Look at these two numbers. 37 is bigger than 21, so I will say 37.Try to complete the task as quickly as possible without getting it wrong. Now, try it on your own.37. Reading numbers.In this game, you have to name aloud the numbers that appear on the screen. Look at this number. Here you have to say 12, because that is the name of the number on the screen.Try to complete the task as quickly as possible without getting it wrong. Now, try it on your own.12. Place value.In this game, we have a number and four pictures. You have to click on the picture that represents the number correctly. I will choose the first one, because the bar equals a 10 and the squares equal five units.Now, try it on your own. Number line, 0 to 100 and 0 to 1, 000. In this game, you have to put the number where you think it goes.Look at this line. It starts at zero and ends at 100. You have to put number 50 here.To do so, you have to press on the red line under the number and drag it to the correct place. Do you know why I dropped the number here? It is in the middle because 50 is half 100.Now, try to do it on your own. Arithmetic fact retrieval. In this game, you have to solve the computations in your head.In the first one, the correct answer is three. Solve the task in silence, and tell me the answer aloud. Try to solve the task as quickly as possible without getting it wrong.Now, try it on your own.Three. Arithmetic principles. In this game, you have to say aloud the result of the second operation.Look carefully at both computations. The first one has already been solved, but the second one still needs to be solved. 5 5 10, then 5 6 11.When I tell you to start, solve the task in silence and then say the answer aloud. Try to solve the task as quickly as possible without getting it wrong. Now, try it on your own.11.Counting span. In this game, we have some cards. Each card has blue and yellow dots.You have to count and remember the number of yellow dots on each card. First, we are going to count how many yellow dots there are on the first card. There are two yellow dots on the card.Then we will count all the yellow dots on the second card. There are eight yellow dots on the card. Now, as there were two yellow dots on the first card and eight yellow dots on the second card, you have to say aloud the numbers two and eight.Now, try it on your own.Two.Eight. Two, eight. Rapid automatized naming, letters.In this game, you have to name the letters that appear on the screen. It does not matter if they are repeated. So we have to say A, C, V, N, A, N, C, C, V, V.Try to name the letters as quickly as possible from left to right and from top to bottom.Now, try it on your own. A, C, V, C, A, N, V.C, V, V.Visuospatial working memory. In this game, you will see that some of the squares light up.You have to remember which squares lit up and the order in which they did so. Then you have to press the squares in the same order to repeat the sequence. Now, watch carefully and press the squares in the same order.Phoneme deletion. In this game, you have to remove the first sound of each word. If you hear the word tarde, you have to remove the sound, tuh.So you will say arde. Now, try it on your own.Late.Ate. Results indicated alpha of above 0.7 for the majority of the measures at each grade, suggesting good to excellent internal consistency for most of the tasks.The fit indices suggested an adequate fit of the five-factor model proposed for the data which were invariant across grades. Results from receiver-operating characteristic analyses were promising, with the results showing AUCs ranging from 0.72 to 0.92 across almost all factors in grades, indicating acceptable to excellent discrimination. BM-PROMA is one of the few computerized tools that integrates a multidimensional protocol to diagnose primary school children with MLD and the first tool standardized for Spanish-speaking children.Here, it has been proven that BM-PROMA is a well-validated and reliable instrument. Its use provides a complete cognitive profile of the child, which is relevant not only for diagnosis, but also for individualized instructional planning. Finally, it is important to note that the multimedia context is highly motivating for the children and, at the same time, makes the assessment procedure easier.

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4.2K Views.  Universidad de La Laguna. Learning mathematics is crucial for our everyday lives. A poor understanding of maths can cause students to struggle in many other subjects. But also, it could limit their further study options as well as their employability when they come to think about career options.Unfortunately, there is a group of children that show severe impairments from the very beginning of school and which persist throughout their life. This group is known as children with mathematical learning disabilities,...