This study, which used a multiple baseline across participants' design, examines the effectiveness of a modified schema-based instructional approach to improve the mathematical word problem solving performance of three students with mild intellectual disability, two of whom had an autism spectrum disorder. Following the intervention, the three…

In mathematics, the expectation to set up and solve word problems emerges as early as kindergarten; however, many students who experience mathematics difficulty (MD) and dual-language learners often present with specific challenges in this area. To investigate why these populations experience word-problem difficulty, we examined the word, problem…

During the past 20 years, numerous studies examining the use of problem posing in mathematics instruction have documented positive outcomes in terms of students' problem-solving skills, creativity, and attitudes and beliefs regarding the study of mathematics. However, despite these promising results, problem posing in mathematics instruction has…

Competence with rational numbers is essential for mathematics proficiency in secondary mathematics. However, many students struggle with rational number concepts, and students with mathematics difficulties struggle even more. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an intervention that incorporated the use of explicit instruction…

Schema-based instruction (SBI) was used to teach nine middle school students with high-incidence disabilities (HID) to solve proportional reasoning word problems. A multiple-baseline-across-groups design was used to determine student understanding of the SBI process. The design consisted of three phases including baseline, SBI process, and…

Schematic chunks denote patterns, schemes, or sophisticated rules and knowledge stored in the long-term memory in the form of chunks. We investigated whether schematic chunking is effective in improving the performance of students with math difficulties (MD) and students at risk of math failure, and how the complexity level of geometry problems…

The purpose of this review is to determine the evidence base classification of schema-based instruction (SBI) as an intervention to improve word problem-solving outcomes in mathematics for students with learning or mathematics disabilities in Grades K-12. Using the Council for Exceptional Children's quality indicators (QIs) and standards, we…

Implementing an integrated sequence of concrete-representational-abstract depictions of mathematics concepts (CRA-I) can improve the mathematics achievement of students with disabilities, and explicit instructional strategies involving problem-solving heuristics and student verbalizations can help facilitate students' conceptual understanding of…

Growth in two subscales, Informal and Formal Mathematics Skills, of the "Test of Early Mathematics Abilitity-3" (TEMA-3) was explored in a sample of 281 children. Children were identified as either typically developing (TYP; n = 205) or having mathematics difficulties (MD; n = 76) based on their total TEMA-3 score at the end of…

English learners (ELs) experience difficulty with mathematical problem solving because word problems require complex processes beyond basic math skills, such as the use of linguistic information, identifying relevant information, and constructing the appropriate problem statement. This study used a combined multiple baseline design and criterion…

Word problems are prevalent on high-stakes assessments, and success on word problems has implications for grade promotion and graduation. Unfortunately, English Language Learners (ELLs) continue to perform significantly below their native English-speaking peers on mathematics assessments featuring word problems. Little is known about the…

The aim of the present study was to investigate the executive function and planning features of students with different types of learning difficulties. Students with mathematics difficulty (MD; n = 17), reading difficulty (RD; n = 12), and their commonalities (MDRD; n = 22), along with typically academically developing peers (TD; n = 22), were…

Mathematical reasoning is important in conceptual understanding and problem solving. In current reform-based, discourse-oriented mathematics classrooms, students with learning disabilities (LD) encounter challenges articulating or explaining their reasoning processes. Enlightened by the concept of conversational repair borrowed from the field of…

For students with mathematics difficulties (MD), math word problem solving is especially challenging. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a problem-solving strategy, bar model drawing, on the mathematical problem-solving skills of students with MD. The study extended previous research that suggested that schematic-based…

Informed by a constructivist-based, student-adaptive pedagogical approach, this study explores the benefits of teacher-learner discourse moves for the mathematics learning of students with learning disabilities (LD). During a constructivist teaching experiment for nurturing the multiplicative reasoning and problem solving of five third-grade…