Does finger counting help improve math skills in kindergarten?

Finger counting, a topic of debate among preschool educators, sparks differing opinions. Some teachers view it as a sign that children are struggling with math, while others believe it reflects advanced numerical understanding.

A recent study published in Child Development by researchers from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and Editions Nathan in Paris explored whether teaching finger counting strategies to kindergarten-aged children could enhance their ability to solve arithmetic problems.

Adults tend to avoid using their fingers for basic calculations like 3+2, as it can be associated with mathematical difficulties or cognitive impairments.

In contrast, children between the ages of four and six who use their fingers for similar tasks are often considered advanced. These children are thought to have reached a level of abstraction that allows them to grasp the concept that quantities can be represented in multiple ways. However, by the age of eight, if children continue to rely on finger counting for basic problems, it may indicate that they are struggling with math.

The researchers aimed to investigate whether kindergarten children who don’t naturally count on their fingers could be trained to do so, and if that training would lead to improved math skills. The study involved 328 kindergarteners, aged five and six, most of whom were White European children living in France.

The children’s teachers volunteered to participate in the study and registered through a digital pedagogical network, Lea.fr, where they accessed the materials needed for the intervention.

The study followed a structured approach that included a pre-test to measure the children’s existing arithmetic skills, two weeks of finger counting training, a post-test immediately following the training, and a delayed post-test. This allowed the researchers to observe both short-term and long-term effects of the intervention.

Results from the study were significant. Children who didn’t originally use finger counting showed remarkable improvement after the training. Their correct responses in arithmetic jumped from 37% before the intervention to 77% afterward. In contrast, the control group, who didn’t receive the training, saw only a minor increase, from 40% to 48%.

These findings were further validated by replicating the experiment with an active control group rather than a passive one. This study is groundbreaking in its conclusion that children’s arithmetic performance can be significantly improved by teaching them to count on their fingers.

The researchers suggest that incorporating finger counting into math instruction may help bridge the gap in mathematical abilities between children who naturally use this strategy and those who don’t. However, one question that remains is whether children who use finger counting are simply employing a basic procedure to solve math problems or if they are developing a deeper understanding of numerical concepts. Future research is needed to explore this distinction further.

In an interview with the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), Dr. Catherine Thevenot, a researcher from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Lausanne, shared her motivations for conducting this study and her thoughts on the findings.

When asked what prompted her interest in studying finger counting in young children, Dr. Thevenot explained, “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.

Surprisingly, the existing research didn’t offer a clear answer, which left teachers understandably frustrated with my frequent response of ‘I don’t know.’ This recurring question, coupled with the lack of concrete evidence, inspired me to investigate the issue myself. The best way to provide a meaningful answer was through experimental studies—so that’s exactly what I set out to do.”

Dr. Thevenot was also asked how the findings of the study could benefit teachers, caregivers, and practitioners. She responded, “Our findings are highly valuable because, for the first time, we provide a concrete answer to the long-standing question of whether teachers should explicitly teach children to use their fingers for solving addition problems—especially those who don’t do so naturally.

The answer is yes. Our study demonstrates that finger calculation training is effective for over 75% of kindergartners. The next step is to explore how we can support the remaining 25% of children who didn’t respond as well to the intervention.”

Reflecting on the results, Dr. Thevenot admitted that she was surprised by the level of improvement observed in the children. “Absolutely. 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.

Before our intervention, these children were only able to solve about one-third of the addition problems at pre-test. After training, however, they were solving over three-quarters of them! The difference was striking, especially compared to the control groups, where gains were insignificant. The extent of this improvement truly exceeded my expectations.”

As for the future of this line of research, Dr. Thevenot explained, “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, specifically whether children better grasp how to manipulate the quantities represented by their fingers. In fact, we have already started addressing this question and the initial results are very promising. However, we still need to carry out additional experiments to confirm that these improvements are indeed a direct result of our training program.”

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