Abacus Mental Arithmetic, by the direct image of abacus, according to the mode of abacus computation, through various sense organs as ears (listening), eyes (seeing), mouth (talking), limbs (reckoning), brain (thinking) and with the perception of abacus image and reckoning process, is a calculation skill of the whole calculation process reflecting in the brain, building the corresponding abacus image and calculating numbers and quantity in fast speed and high efficiency with “mental abacus” in brain.
learning of Abacus Mental Arithmetic is a new teaching method which makes the abacus-based teaching as its foundation and mainstream and combines the abacus computation, oral calculation and written calculation to form a skill of Abacus Mental Arithmetic.
In six classes of grade one of First Primary School, Xinjiang Province, enrolled in 1996, selected five classes at random as experimental classes to learn Abacus Mental Arithmetic; three classes and six classes were the respective corresponding classes; total 181 students, including 65 students in experimental classes featuring on learning Abacus Mental Arithmetic, were our tracking research objects.
There were 158 students, including 62 students in experimental classes of Abacus Mental Arithmetic, graduated in year 2002.
Continued to assemble the 56 students in experimental class of Abacus Mental Arithmetic enrolled to Shihezi First Secondary School, Xinjiang Province, China, as an experimental class and other students at the same grade as the corresponding classes to tracking research.
Intelligence Quotient determination applies to the Associative Ruiwen Intelligence Test Scale, Scale and Clinical Memory Scale for nation-wide use and modified by China. Primary and secondary students’ non-intellectual factor is determined with Eysenck Personality Qualification (EPQ) edited by Non-intellectual factor and Research Project Association Team. All the experimenters are trained in the National Psychological Test Class and achieved the certificate.
The Abacus Mental Arithmetic teachers are the professional teachers who are designated by Shihezi Abacus Computation Association and qualified in the National Teaching Training; they teach Abacus Mental Arithmetic according to teaching method of the specific materials appointed by Chinese Abacus Computation Association. Grade one from primary school has two periods per day, grade two has one period per day, grade three has four periods per week, grade four has two periods pre week, grade five and grade six has one period per week. The research makes building abacus image in brain without abacus as the successful standard.
The match method choose the forty-five students who can figure out more than 15 rows in two-digit numbers in experimental class; with the accordance of sex, mother’s literature extent, feeding way in suckling period, the age difference within six months, equal in ‘Chinese words’ recognized in preschool, basic intelligence quotient difference within ten as the foundation, in the two corresponding classes, match with 1: 1 and there are 33 matches.
This research pays attention to the standardization of disposal factors, test objects and experimental effects and reflects three principles of contrast, random and repeat and makes uses of blind trial too.
This project started the teachers training for Abacus Mental Arithmetic from 1996 to 1997 and drew out the teaching programmes and operation methods and established the Abacus Mental Arithmetic Intelligence Development Research Team. They carried on subject design and report to Science Committee; investigated and collected the data that influenced primary students’ intelligence and carried on the 1st Ruiwen Intelligence Test and published the “Multi-factors analysis on influencing primary students’ intelligence” and won prize.
This project started the 2nd,3rd,4th and 5th Ruiwen Intelligence Test from 1998 to 2001 and developed children match, reading ability test, Wechsler Children Intelligence Test, Clinical Memory Scale Test and Eysenck Personality Test; collecting study performances of each semester; the effect of learning of Abacus Mental Arithmetic on primary students’ reading ability; the effect of learning of Abacus Mental Arithmetic on primary students’ intelligence and short-time memory; analysis on the effect of learning of Abacus Mental Arithmetic on primary students’ memory extent; pre-research on the effect of learning of Abacus Mental Arithmetic on intelligence; experimental research on the effect of learning of Abacus Mental Arithmetic on children’s intelligence etc. The project won the 1st prize of Shihezi Science Progress and 3rd prize of Corps Science Progress in 2001.
This project started the tests of concentration power, non-intellectual factors and writing ability from 2002 to 2005 and started to collect their study performances of each semester and prizes data.