We investigated the effect of emphasising the realistic modelling complexity in text or in the accompanying picture on the solution of P-items, in relation to pupils' grade. 290 pupils from the 5th and 6th grade of various elementary schools in Flanders (Belgium) made a paper-and-pencil task with 7 word problems that are problematic from a…

Previous research has shown that when confronted with missing-value word problems, primary school students strongly tend to use proportional solution approaches, even if these approaches are inappropriate. The authors investigated whether (besides the missing-value formulation of word problems) the numbers appearing in word problems are part of…

We confronted 151, 5th and 6th elementary grade pupils with a quantitative problem in a mathematics or religion class, to examine the influence of the context on pupils' understanding and solution of such problems inside and outside the mathematics class. Pupils were first asked to solve a problem about fair sharing either during a mathematics or…

The study explored the effects of a computer-assisted COnceptual Model-based Problem-Solving (COMPS) program on multiplicative word-problem-solving performance of students with learning disabilities or difficulties. The COMPS program emphasizes mathematical modeling with algebraic expressions of relations. Participants were eight fourth and fifth…

The authors explored the effects of teaching conceptual model-based problem-solving instruction on students' ability to solve problems in various situations. Participants were 3 4th-and 5th-grade students with or at risk for mathematics disabilities. The authors used an adapted multiple-probe across-participants design to assess the functional…