[MATHLINK] MCLS Symposium April 13 (and conference deadline 1 on April 15!)

[MCLS Trainee]

Dear MCLS Community,

Hope everyone enjoyed their AERA and/or SRCD this last week if you were
able to attend! Please be sure to join us for our next and penultimate
symposium workshop* tomorrow, Tuesday, April 13 30 at 9am EST // 2pm London
// 9pm Hong Kong* entitled "Spontaneous mathematical focusing tendencies
and the development of early mathematical skills and organized by Jake
McMullen. We are excited to hear from Nore Wijns (KU Leuven, Belgium),
Michèle Mazzocco (University of Minnesota, USA), Alex Silver (University of
Pittsburgh, USA), and Minna Hannula-Sormunen (University of Turku,
Finland). An abstract is included below.

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Topic: MCLS Symposium April 13: Spontaneous mathematical focusing
tendencies and the development of early mathematical skills
Time: Apr 13, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2258337242?pwd=eVhxaXhuSm96dHFKSWRQL1hWMDJFZz09

Meeting ID: 225 833 7242
Passcode: MCLS2020b
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A couple things to remember:

   - Interested in being a mentor, mentee, or engaging in peer mentorship?
   We're launching an *MCLS Mentorship Program*! Find out more information
   and register here: https://forms.gle/KhwRh3JBb9mCy43m8m
   <https://the-mcls.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=52a664da881817eed812437d0&id=6ae8af5c57&e=f13dd00558>
   !
   - Also wanted to remind everyone that the submission Qualtrics is open
   for the 2021 conference
   <https://the-mcls.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=52a664da881817eed812437d0&id=71d03182e8&e=f13dd00558>!
   The call for abstract can be found here
   <https://the-mcls.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=52a664da881817eed812437d0&id=e081c50216&e=f13dd00558>
   .
      - Deadlines for all submission types are April 15 and June 1. Neither
      date will receive priority, but submissions for the April 15 deadline are
      more likely to be scheduled earlier in our program.
      - We will have ongoing calls for lightning talks and posters
      throughout the year to be able to address up-to-the-minute
emerging science.
   - We are also still inviting reviewers for conference submissions at all
   levels. Volunteer to be a reviewer here
   <https://the-mcls.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=52a664da881817eed812437d0&id=d84afb4d0e&e=f13dd00558>
   .

Finally, be sure to mark your calendars for our upcoming events:
*Thursday, April 22 (11am EST)* - Alternative models of the Approximate
Number System
*Tuesday, April 27 (9 am-11am EST // 2 hour)* - Final workshop and closing
remarks (more details TBA)

Thanks!
The MCLS Training Board

*Abstract*
Until recently, individual differences in the development of mathematical
skills have almost exclusively been studied using overtly mathematical
tasks. However, a novel approach using non- explicitly mathematical tasks
has revealed that not all children equally focus on mathematical aspects
when not guided to do so. Children’s tendency of Spontaneous Focusing On
Numerosity (SFON) has been found to predict individual differences in early
numeracy and mathematical development throughout primary school. A higher
SFON tendency is thought to trigger more self- initiated practice with
numerical skills in children’s everyday lives, which leads to advantages in
learning mathematics. This symposium includes four empirical studies which
build on the previous findings of SFON studies by extending this work to
examine children’s spontaneous mathematical behavior with other
mathematical aspects and by examining how both perceptual and educational
contexts effect spontaneous mathematical focusing.

Representing one of the newest faces on the spontaneous mathematical
focusing tendencies scene is the work by Wijns (PhD candidate, KU Leuven,
Belgium) and colleagues examining the role of spontaneous focusing on
patterns (SFOP) in the early development of mathematical skills. In this
study, they present a longitudinal investigation of the development of SFOP
in relation to patterning and numerical abilities.
The middle half of the symposium will cover issues pertaining to stimulus
and response effects on the elicitation of SFON instances. First, Mazzocco
(Professor, University of Minnesota, USA) and colleagues continue to probe
the effects of perceptual salience on SFON based responses. For the first
time, they are able to examine the relation between performance on the
Attention to Number tasks and mathematical skills, including investigating
how Attention to Number predicts mathematical abilities one year later.
Examining these situational effects on SFON from the perspective of task
demands, Silver (PhD student, University of Pittsburgh, USA) and colleagues
examine the relation between four-year olds’ SFON in behavioral tasks, SFON
in verbal tasks, and mathematical ability in young children. This study
will provide a valuable contribution into the ongoing discussion of the
relation between SFON performance in different task designs and how these
may be differently related to early mathematical development.

Providing us a look at how SFON tendency may contribute to early
mathematical development, Hannula-Sormunen (Professor, University of Turku,
Finland) and colleagues present results from two interventions aimed at
improving SFON tendency and early numeracy in young children. Results
reveal an immediate positive impact on SFON tendency, with positive
transfer effects to early numeracy skills over an extended period of time.
These results provide important verification of the causal and educational
impact of SFON tendency on early numeracy.