Discusses the role of computer-assisted instruction in teaching thinking skills and presents a case study in teaching domain-specific strategies. A videodisc-based program called "Mastering Ratios and Word Problems Strategies" is described, and the debate over teaching broad-based thinking processes versus content-specific skills is…

An instrumental technique is presented to help students create a symbolic representation that may aid the process of choosing an appropriate operation to solve a problem. Current research and practice are discussed; then the part-part-whole model is presented. (MNS)

Stresses the importance of teaching physics concepts over having students work on word problems. (MVL)

Students do not associate traditional word problems with their own experiences because they describe situations textually, rather than contextually, and seem artificially geared to specific number operations and single correct answers. Aided by a state grant, elementary teachers in one Minnesota district are using video anchors to simulate…

Presents a review of 54 studies on math practices for students with learning disabilities. Validated practices included strategy and self-regulation interventions. Students benefited from step-by-step processes that guided their thinking and performance when solving math problems. The use of manipulative devices and drawings also were effective.…

Explores some of the common difficulties experienced by preservice primary teachers with mathematical word problems. Examines weaknesses in students' content and procedural knowledge, with a particular focus on how they apply these aspects of knowledge to solving closed word problems. Contains 34 references. (Author/ASK)

This study with 155 fifth-grade Italian children examined students' metacognitive beliefs in mathematics and their relation to problem-solving performance. Poor problem solvers had lower metacognitive awareness, believed number size was an indicator of problem difficulty, and made more computational and procedural errors. (DB)

Performance on mathematics word problems was compared for 197 students (grades 3-8) with mild disabilities and 210 nondisabled students. Students with disabilities performed at significantly lower levels than typical students. Significant effects were also evident for grade and type of mathematical operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication,…

Devised a model that hypothesized that students, in discriminating relevant information in mathematical story problems, search for values of semantic categories that match those in the problem. Two experiments assessed the validity of the model. Results indicated that the model was an accurate predictor of discrimination performance for successful…

Four human judges agreed highly among themselves about the presence of errors committed by 60 adults solving algebra word problems, but were in less agreement about categorizing faults. An expert system agreed with judges about correctness of answers, but was in even less agreement about categorizing the faults. (SLD)

Describes a study of sixth grade middle school students that examined whether tuning students' attention to information in a mathematics problem impacted their problem-solving performance. Discusses use of the Jasper Woodbury Problem-Solving series and results of statistical analyses that showed the importance of creating mathematical problems…

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' use of visual imagery and its relationship to spatial visualization ability while solving mathematical word problems. Students with learning disabilities (LD), average achievers, and gifted students in sixth grade (N = 66) participated in this study. Students were assessed on measures of…

College students' strategies to discriminate relevant from irrelevant information in algebra story problems were identified and compared to strategies used by younger students in previous studies. College students identified numbers relevant for solution (Experiment 1) or provided verbal reports as they computed answers (Experiment 2). Type of…

The influence of cognitive growth in working memory (WM) on mathematical problem solution accuracy was examined in elementary school children (N = 353) at risk and not at risk for serious math problem solving difficulties. A battery of tests was administered that assessed problem solving, achievement, and cognitive processing (WM, inhibition,…

The author describes 10 classroom activities that are designed to promote reading comprehension and organizational skills in the context of solving math problems. These lessons help students to clarify the information within math problems, identify what operations are necessary, and express their solutions more accurately and precisely. A…