Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(9): 3989-3996, 2020 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.080924 Continuing Professional Education for Pre-service Teachers of Mental Arithmetic Aigul R. Ganeeva * , Tatyana I. Anisimova Department of Mathematics and Applied Informatics, Yelabuga Institute of the Kazan Federal University, Russia Received May 19, 2020; Revised June 30, 2020; Accepted July 20, 2020 Cite This Paper in the following Citation Styles (a): [1] Aigul R. Ganeeva, Tatyana I. Anisimova , "Continuing Professional Education for Pre-service Teachers of Mental Arithmetic," Universal Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 8, No. 9, pp. 3989 - 3996, 2020. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.080924. (b): Aigul R. Ganeeva, Tatyana I. Anisimova (2020). Continuing Professional Education for Pre-service Teachers of Mental Arithmetic. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(9), 3989 - 3996. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.080924. Copyright©2020 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Abstract The intellectual development of preschoolers and primary school children is facilitated by mental arithmetic training using a system of quick oral math on an abacus. A continuing professional development program must prepare pre-service teachers to use innovative teaching methods for quick oral math during classroom and extracurricular activities. The purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness of a continuing professional education program that prepares pre-service teachers to instruct in mental arithmetic. We developed and implemented the “Mental Arithmetic for Educators” program organized into five thematic blocks. The qualitative exploratory study (2017–2019) involved 25 participants majoring in teacher education, who did a questionnaire before and after completing the program and underwent praxis. To assess the effectiveness of the program, we analyzed the results of their questionnaires and praxis reports describing the implementation of innovative teaching methods. The results of the questionnaire show a rise in the level of the participants’ ability to use innovative teaching methods during classroom and extracurricular activities, which the analyzed praxis reports proved. The findings demonstrate that after completing the program the pre-service teachers successfully introduced innovative teaching methods for mental arithmetic and contributed to increasing children’s reaction times and ability to concentrate, that is boosted children’s intellectual development. Such programs should be incorporated into the continuing education system of higher education institutions, which is novel in the international theory and methodology of preparing pre-service and in-service teachers to instruct in mental arithmetic. Keywords Intellectual Development, Innovative Teaching Methods, Mental Arithmetic, Continuing Professional Education Program, Pre-service Teachers 1. Introduction During their higher education training, pre-service teachers prepare to implement pedagogical activities. Their mastering of innovative teaching methods contributes to the successful implementation of pedagogical activities in preschool and primary general education and, accordingly, the provision of quality educational services in accordance with children’s needs. Their intellectual development is the value of education (Lewis, Watson, & Schaps, 2013) and represents “both the process and degree of cognitive and mental activity of a developing personality in its various manifestations: cognitive processes, knowledge, skills, abilities, reasoning, talent, etc.” (Dzhioeva, 2015, p. 75). Activities aimed at developing intellectual abilities and skills increase the level of intellectual development in preschoolers and primary school children, which eventually manifests as learning outcomes. Such activities include developing trainings that emphasize realizing children’s potential and actively working to stimulate intellectual development (van Oers, B., 2012). In this regard, children’s intellectual development is facilitated by