Examines the performance of deaf and hearing-impaired students in Queensland, Australia when solving arithmetic word problems. Subjects' solutions of word problems confirmed trends for learning students but their performance was delayed in comparison. Confirms other studies in which deaf and hearing-impaired students are delayed in their language…

Significant changes in the General Educational Development Math Test require a change in teaching methods. A structured problem-solving approach focused on applying principles and interpreting abstract data will stress process as well as content as required by the test. (SK)

The initial step of a strategic process for solving mathematical problems, "studying the question," is discussed. A lesson plan for teaching students to identify and revise arithmetic problems is presented, involving directed instruction and supervised practice. (JDD)

Experiments in strategy instruction for mathematics have been conducted using three models (direct instruction, self-instruction, and guided learning) applied to the tasks of computation and word problem solving. Results have implications for effective strategy instruction for learning disabled students. It is recommended that strategy instruction…

Discusses social and cognitive influences on understanding and solving word problems. Descriptions of studies with elementary school, secondary school, and college students highlight subject matter-related attitudes; the fact that students can solve problems without understanding them; and contextual expectations, including the issue of authority.…

Given are several examples of seemingly unrelated problems that nevertheless can be solved with a single mathematical idea--the proportion. It is hoped that as students see how a variety of problem contexts can be modeled by a proportion, they will use proportions more frequently in problem solving. (MNS)

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)

Presents algebraic and geometric solutions with surprising twists to a word problem involving linear functions and postal rates. (MKR)

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…

Discusses issues related to the subject/topic content of developmental mathematics programs. Argues that such programs should teach as much preprobability and statistics as they do precalculus, and that less time be spent by students simplifying and operating with rational algebraic expressions and other process-oriented mathematical equations.…

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)