Mental Arithmetic
Programme for
Primary Schools, Preschools
Programme for
Primary Schools, Preschools
Used at the Cambridge, IB, COBIS accredited and other International schools
The University of Manchester, 2008
The experimental group that received two hours of mental arithmetic training a week on average gained 7.11 IQ points, a 10.6% increase compared to the control group that didn't receive it.
We are Abakus Center
International Mental Arithmetic school for children aged 5 to 12 years old
We offer a Mental Arithmetic programme for schools and educational centers as an extracurricular activity and as a part of the school curriculum. Our students learn Mental Arithmetic in online and offline modes around the world.
25
Countries
204
40 097
Centers
Students
What is Mental Arithmetic?
Mental Arithmetic offers a proven means to developing a child's academic abilities and creative thinking skills in a balanced way.
The programme begins by teaching each child to use an abacus, an ancient tool that allows tactile interaction with mathematics. Once the abacus has been mastered, each child learns to do calculations in their head by forming a mental image of a number on the abacus. The result is each child is able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide even very large numbers mentally.
Peer-reviewed studies with control groups have shown that the Abakus program leads to improved academic results and increased performance in foreign languages.
How do children benefit from
Mental Arithmetic?
Mental Arithmetic?
Abakus Mental Arithmetic Programme, involving mental calculations, stimulates both the right and the left hemispheres of the brain and helps children strengthen their visualization skills
Logical thinking
Mathematical thinking
Memory and critical thinking
Analytical skills
Creativity and confidence
Spatial
imagination
imagination
How does it work at schools?
The Abakus Programme can be implemented in 2 ways:
- As an integral part of the School CurriculumAbakus Mental Arithmetic becomes a compulsory subject to the students of the school. School can start introducing the program in one or several classes as a pilot project and later expand to the full stage or implement the programme for all classes from Early Years and Primary stages.
- As an extracurricular activitySchools can introduce the Abakus Mental Arithmetic as an extracurricular course offered for students. The groups are divided according to the students' age and level.
Abakus Center prepares teachers and provides training every year.
We work closely with our schools, from programme design to the certification of a teacher with the professional development qualification to help them deliver courses on the best possible level.
We work closely with our schools, from programme design to the certification of a teacher with the professional development qualification to help them deliver courses on the best possible level.
Case Studies
What's included in the School License?
Professional development and training for teachers
We provide comprehensive support to help teachers deliver our programmes and qualifications successfully in the classroom.
- Comprehensive training for the programme leaders and teachers in each center or online
- Detailed documentation to help design fit-for-purpose programmes, appropriate to needs and contexts
- Learning resources for the candidates in the Guide for the qualification
- Examiner feedback to highlight achievement and points of development for the future
- Two-step certification for the candidate teachers to become a fully qualified Abakus Mental Arithmetic Coach
Resources and guides for the Abakus Programme
We have produced a series of resources to support the teaching and learning in your school for Primary School and EYFS students. They explore different aspects of educational practice, from designing a curriculum to improving the quality of classroom activity.
Marketing support
A wide range of marketing materials is available for schools including the brand book, posters, promotional materials as brochures and roll-ups, and many more.
Learning resources for kids
Abakus centers have access to a range of fun resources that ignite children's curiosity, enable structured development, and are aligned with the curriculum. Our materials are all designed in line with the latest research findings to help you build an enriching learning experience.
Abakus Coursebook
Mental Calculation book
Assessment book
Mental Calculation book
Assessment book
They include:
Classic abacus
Access to the online platform (1 year)
Certification after completion
Access to the online platform (1 year)
Certification after completion
Online Platform
We created a versatile online platform where you can open access to your students and teachers and manage the groups in a few clicks. All the apps are designed to engage students to practice mental math more at home. Teachers easily can see the results of students and determine what to focus on in the class.
Abakus International Competitions
Abakus Center provides Annual International Competition for all Mental Arithmetic learners. We want to give students the opportunity to develop their passion for Math and to promote the attributes of an Abakus learner through collaboration and communication, promoting innovation and creativity.
2016Seoul, South Korea
2019Bangkok, Thailand
2017Johannesburg, South Africa
2020Cologne, Germany
2018Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2020Online
2019Warsaw, Poland
2021Online
2019Moscow, Russia
2022London, UK
What parents say about us
Results from a survey of 900 parents of our students
57%
Improvement in academic
performance
performance
65%
Boost of creativity
73%
Memory enhancement
59%
Increased self-confidence
Studying the Effects of Mental Arithmetic on the intelligence of children
The University of Manchester
Research duration: 34 weeks
First published: 3 August 2008
Using a sample of 3185 children, this study investigated the effects of abacus training on intelligence, assessed using standard progressive matrices (SPM). The children were divided into two groups: one group received two hours of abacus training a week for 34 weeks, while the control group did not receive any training.
The two groups were retested at the end of the study period and, controlling for practice effects, the experimental group on average gained 7.11 IQ points, a 10.6% increase, and a statistically significant result. The children who had completed the training also performed much more quickly (+4.6%).
Authors:
Dr. Paul lrwing (University of Manchester, Manchester, UK)
Dr. Richard Lynn (University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK)
Dr. Omar Khaleefa (University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan)
Dr. Alya Hamza (University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan)
Research duration: 34 weeks
First published: 3 August 2008
Using a sample of 3185 children, this study investigated the effects of abacus training on intelligence, assessed using standard progressive matrices (SPM). The children were divided into two groups: one group received two hours of abacus training a week for 34 weeks, while the control group did not receive any training.
The two groups were retested at the end of the study period and, controlling for practice effects, the experimental group on average gained 7.11 IQ points, a 10.6% increase, and a statistically significant result. The children who had completed the training also performed much more quickly (+4.6%).
Authors:
Dr. Paul lrwing (University of Manchester, Manchester, UK)
Dr. Richard Lynn (University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK)
Dr. Omar Khaleefa (University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan)
Dr. Alya Hamza (University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan)
Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine
Experts of abacus operation demonstrate extraordinary ability in mental calculation. There is psychological evidence that abacus experts utilize a mental image of an abacus to remember and manipulate large numbers in solving problems; however, the neural correlates underlying this expertise is unknown. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we compared the neural correlates associated with three mental-operation tasks (numeral, spatial, verbal) among six experts in abacus operations and eight non-experts. In general, there was more involvement of neural correlates for visuospatial processing (e.g., right premotor and parietal areas) for abacus experts during the numeral mental-operation task. The activity of these areas and the fusiform cortex was correlated with the size of numerals used in the numeral mental-operation task. Particularly, the posterior superior parietal cortex revealed significantly enhanced activity for experts compared with controls during the numeral mental-operation task. Comparison with the other mental-operation tasks indicated that activity in the posterior superior parietal cortex was relatively specific to computation in 2-dimensional space. In conclusion, the mental calculation of abacus experts is likely associated with enhanced involvement of the neural resources for visuospatial information processing in 2-dimensional space.
Authors:
TAKASHI HANAKAWA (Human Brain Research Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan. Human Motor Control Section, NINDS, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA)
MANABU HONDA (Human Brain Research Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan. National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan. PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Corp., Kawaguchi, Japan)
TOMOHISA OKADA (National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan)
HIDENAO FUKUYAMA (Human Brain Research Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan)
HIROSHI SHIBASAKI (Human Brain Research Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan. National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan)
Experts of abacus operation demonstrate extraordinary ability in mental calculation. There is psychological evidence that abacus experts utilize a mental image of an abacus to remember and manipulate large numbers in solving problems; however, the neural correlates underlying this expertise is unknown. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we compared the neural correlates associated with three mental-operation tasks (numeral, spatial, verbal) among six experts in abacus operations and eight non-experts. In general, there was more involvement of neural correlates for visuospatial processing (e.g., right premotor and parietal areas) for abacus experts during the numeral mental-operation task. The activity of these areas and the fusiform cortex was correlated with the size of numerals used in the numeral mental-operation task. Particularly, the posterior superior parietal cortex revealed significantly enhanced activity for experts compared with controls during the numeral mental-operation task. Comparison with the other mental-operation tasks indicated that activity in the posterior superior parietal cortex was relatively specific to computation in 2-dimensional space. In conclusion, the mental calculation of abacus experts is likely associated with enhanced involvement of the neural resources for visuospatial information processing in 2-dimensional space.
Authors:
TAKASHI HANAKAWA (Human Brain Research Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan. Human Motor Control Section, NINDS, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA)
MANABU HONDA (Human Brain Research Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan. National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan. PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Corp., Kawaguchi, Japan)
TOMOHISA OKADA (National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan)
HIDENAO FUKUYAMA (Human Brain Research Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan)
HIROSHI SHIBASAKI (Human Brain Research Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan. National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan)
Shinshu University, Dokkyo University
This study was aimed at investigating the effects of after-school abacus learning on paper-and-pencil calculation. Two speeded tests of basic calculation, «power tests» of multi-digit addition, subtraction, open sentence problems and word problems involving addition and subtraction, and comprehension of the «trade» principle between columns were given to 110 3rd-graders, 53 of whom were learning abacus outside the school. The abacus learners (a) were much quicker in a basic calculation, (b) made more correct responses in multi-digit subtraction, and (c) more often wrote a mathematical expression and identified the missing number correctly. All these differences remained significant even when school grades in the language entered analyses as a covariate. However, when the speed of basic calculation was partialled out, differences in other tests became insignificant. No difference was observed incomprehension of the trade principle. Abacus learning seemed to have influenced paper-and-pencil calculation not through conceptual understanding, but through proficiency in shared component skills.
Authors:
SHIZUKO AMAIWA (Faculty of Education, Shinshu University, Nishi-Nagano, Nagano 380)
GIYOO HATANO (Dokkyo University, Soka, Saitanta 340)
This study was aimed at investigating the effects of after-school abacus learning on paper-and-pencil calculation. Two speeded tests of basic calculation, «power tests» of multi-digit addition, subtraction, open sentence problems and word problems involving addition and subtraction, and comprehension of the «trade» principle between columns were given to 110 3rd-graders, 53 of whom were learning abacus outside the school. The abacus learners (a) were much quicker in a basic calculation, (b) made more correct responses in multi-digit subtraction, and (c) more often wrote a mathematical expression and identified the missing number correctly. All these differences remained significant even when school grades in the language entered analyses as a covariate. However, when the speed of basic calculation was partialled out, differences in other tests became insignificant. No difference was observed incomprehension of the trade principle. Abacus learning seemed to have influenced paper-and-pencil calculation not through conceptual understanding, but through proficiency in shared component skills.
Authors:
SHIZUKO AMAIWA (Faculty of Education, Shinshu University, Nishi-Nagano, Nagano 380)
GIYOO HATANO (Dokkyo University, Soka, Saitanta 340)
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