The influence of language and situation structure on the difficulty of word problems has been investigated intensively in the field of mathematics education. However, instructional approaches to overcoming students' difficulties are still not widely available. This paper describes an intervention to develop second graders' skills in handling…

Analyses were conducted with second graders, drawn from an ongoing multi-cohort randomized controlled trial (RCT), who had been identified for RCT entry based on comorbid reading comprehension and word-problem solving difficulty. To estimate pandemic learning loss, we contrasted fall performance for 3 cohorts: fall of 2019 (pre-pandemic; n = 47),…

Ensuring students correctly understand the notion of equality is a fundamental problem in teaching mathematics. Is it possible to teach arithmetic in such a way that students do not misinterpret the equal sign "=" as indicating the result of an arithmetic operation and, consequently, viewing the arithmetic operation symbols (+, -, or x)…

This study investigated the effectiveness of "Math Explorer" at enhancing the word problem-solving skills of students with mathematics difficulties (MD). The study, which had a multiple-probe-across-subjects design, was conducted over 18 weeks. Four students with MD in Grades 2 and 3 participated. All students were able to use the four-step…

Math content for English Language Learners (ELLs) is unforgiving in terms of the constant need to build specific math and reading knowledge. As a result, ELLs may not only need math support but also reading comprehension support. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a word problem solving strategy called Estratégica…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of schema-broadening instruction (SBI) on second graders' word-problem-solving skills and their ability to represent the structure of word problems using algebraic equations. Teachers (n = 18) were randomly assigned to conventional word-problem instruction or SBI word-problem instruction, which…

Although current categories of learning disabilities include as specific disabilities calculation and mathematical problem solving [see IDEA reauthorization, 2004, Sec. 300.8(c)(10)], the majority of research focuses on calculation disabilities. Previous studies have shown, however, that deficits in word problem solving difficulties are persistent…