The main purpose of this research is to examine the informal strategies of fifth and sixth grade students while solving inverse proportional word problems. Multiple case study was used in this study. The research was carried out in a public middle school from a southern city of Türkiye. The participants of the research consist of three fifth and…

The level of arithmetic knowledge of a high school student was explored when solving additive word problems considering the semantic structure and syntactic component. The methodology was qualitative and developed in four stages: the first is the selection of the participant, the second is the design of a questionnaire with twenty additive…

Background/purpose: This study investigates the effectiveness of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) integrated with scaffolding in enhancing problem-solving skills among students with varying levels of prior knowledge. The main objective is to determine how scaffolding, when combined with PBL, can support students in developing stronger problem-solving…

The issue of students' difficulties in solving context-based mathematics problems has been extensively investigated by numerous studies. However, limited study focus on how pre-service primary school teacher (PSPSTs) encounter difficulties in solving context-based fundamental mathematics problems. To fill this gap, this study aims to investigate…

Background & Aims: Cognitive load theory assumes that the higher the learner's prior knowledge (i.e., the more expert the learner), the lower the intrinsic cognitive load (complexity) experienced for a given problem. While this is the case in many scenarios, there can be cases in which the converse is also true, resulting in more expert…

A crucial component of mathematics curriculum in primary education is represented by the ability to solve arithmetic word problems. Previous studies investigated predominantly the cognitive factors underlying this skill, neglecting the role of emotional (e.g. math anxiety -- MA) and metacognitive aspects (e.g. perceived difficulty). Some findings…

Pre-service teachers' metacognitive and problem-solving skills are highly important in the process of becoming effective teachers for providing their students with guided learning support. Determination of these two higher-order thinking processes and skills and investigation of the relationship between them is very important for enabling…

Linear functions are an essential part of school and university education. Nevertheless, this topic is challenging for many students--especially in STEM topics. In this article, we contribute to the understanding of learning difficulties in the context of mathematical and physical problems. Here, we present the results of an eye-tracking study on…

Children with mathematical difficulties need to spend more time than typically achieving children on solving even simple equations. Since these tasks already require a larger share of their cognitive resources, additional demands imposed by the need to switch between tasks may lead to a greater decline of performance in children with mathematical…

In research practice, it is common to measure cognitive load after learning using self-report scales. This approach can be considered risky because it is unclear on what basis learners assess cognitive load, particularly when the learning material contains varying levels of complexity. This raises questions that have yet to be answered by…

Background/purpose: This study investigated the effectiveness of Problem-Based Worksheets (PBWs) in improving conceptual understanding of logic gates. PBWs were designed with key characteristics that integrate authentic problem-solving, active student engagement, and conceptual scaffolding to support critical thinking processes. A total of 32…

Mathematical word problem solving is influenced by various characteristics of the task and the person solving it. Yet, previous research has rarely related these characteristics to holistically answer which word problem requires which set of individual cognitive skills. In the present study, we conducted a secondary data analysis on a dataset of N…

This study aimed to examine Grade 7 students' perceptions toward Math word problems to help improve their problem-solving skills since the said skill is important and essential for all students to possess. This study used a descriptive survey made by the researchers and consisted of 15 statements of feelings regarding Math word problems; the…

This study analysed the designs of algebraic problems in elementary mathematics textbooks used in Finland, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. This study employed a content-analysis method that focused on four dimensions: representational forms, cognitive demand levels (CDLs), contextual features, and types of responses. The result of the…

This study analyzes the consequences of item nonresponse to the question about a household's total net income in the European Social Survey (2008-2018). We recognize two mechanisms in avoiding answering the income question: task complexity and question sensitivity, and apply multilevel logistic regressions to predict the probability of refusals or…