We describe three activities that help undergraduates (pre-service teachers) to develop scientific vocabulary on measurable attributes and units of measurement. Measurable attributes are important features in understanding a word problem and solving the problem. These activities help students comprehend word problems better by identifying…

The Common Core State Standards in Mathematics outline both the content and practices students must engage in at each grade level to become mathematically proficient. Mathematical processes include problem solving, reasoning and proof, communication, and procedural fluency, which includes flexible thinking. The purpose of this study was to…

The potential benefits from the introduction of programming environments such as "Scratch" for learning mathematics has reactivated research in this area. Nonetheless, there are few studies which attempt to analyse their influence at the stage of Primary Education. We present the results of a quasi-experimental piece of research with…

Two common interest-enhancement approaches in mathematics curriculum design are illustrations and personalization of problems to students' interests. The objective of these experiments is to test a variety of illustrations and personalization approaches. In the illustrations experiment, students (n = 265) were randomly assigned to lessons with…

Background: The previous body of research literature has reported several separate cognitive processes relevant in solving mathematics wps. Therefore, it is of the essence to seek for effective intervention and instruction for students in need for support in learning. Aim: This article reports the outcome of an intervention targeted at mathematics…

This paper aimed to investigate secondary school students' representations for solving geometric word problems in different clinical interviewing processes. More specifically, the focus was to understand the changes/developments in students' representations through think-aloud interviews (TAIs) and open-ended prompting interviews (OEPIs). Three…

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)…

The goal of this paper is to present a succinct consolidation of the why, what and how of the 'Model' method as there is a lack of such documentation for researchers, practitioners and policy makers thus far. The 'Model' method is a tool for representing and visualising relationships when solving whole number arithmetic (WNA) word problems. The…

This randomized control treatment study investigated the role of generative paraphrasing interventions on word problem-solving (WPS) accuracy in English language learners (ELL) who were at risk for math difficulties (MD). One hundred and forty-two third-grade monolingual and English language learners were randomly assigned to either an untreated…

This study concentrated on word problems in Grades Kindergarten-3 and the application of the Standards for Mathematical Practice and the Content Standards. The study also included an analysis of focus, coherence, and rigor in the materials. The textbooks used were among the first editions to be published after the acceptance of the Common Core…

This study's purpose was to investigate effects of 3 intervention approaches for building working memory (WM) and improving word-problem solving (WPS). Children with mathematics difficulties (n = 240; 7.51 years [SD = 0.33]) were randomized to 4 conditions: a control group, general WM training with contiguous math practice, WPS intervention…

Word problems are an integral part of any secondary mathematics curriculum and one purpose has been to prepare students for the real-world--for everyday events as well as workplace problem-solving. Prior literature suggests that word problems have not met this objective, in part, because the textbook problems do not mirror the kinds of problems…

This study aims to present the potential of Participatory Action Research (PAR) to bring together the experiences of teachers and researchers with the intention of improving teaching practices and students' learning outcomes. Participants in the study were 7 teachers, their 160 fifths grade students, and researchers (authors). Teachers and…

Instruction geared toward priming the underlying problem structures was suggested as an evidence-based practice for students with a learning disability. Schema-based instruction is one intervention aligned with this principle. We extended prior work by: (1) using a teacher as the implementer; (2) providing teacher flexibility in intervention…

In an attempt to improve Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), prospective mathematics teachers (N=52) were trained in creating technology-based mathematics teaching materials. They learned visual programming, worked in pairs and created mathematics stories, which are intended to improve fourth grade students' mathematics word…