This study measured the amounts of different types of metacognitive statements made by students enrolled in Elementary Algebra courses at a community college in California. A total of 17 students were interviewed three times during the course of a semester. All interviews were coded for types of metacognitive statements that fell into one of three…

The purpose of this study was to explore word problems as a subject matter in mathematics textbook curricula. The motivation for the study derived from the following evidence: (a) American students find some word problems are more difficult than others (Garcia, Jimenez, & Hess, 2006; Riley & Green, 1988; Stern, 2001), and (b) one of the…

The main objective of this study is (a) to explore the relationship among cognitive style (field dependence/independence), working memory, and mathematics anxiety and (b) to examine their effects on students' mathematics problem solving. A sample of 161 school girls (13-14 years old) were tested on (1) the Witkin's cognitive style (Group Embedded…

The present paper discusses the conceptual demands of an apparently straightforward task set to secondary-level students--completing chemical word equations with a single omitted term. Chemical equations are of considerable importance in chemistry, and school students are expected to learn to be able to write and interpret them. However, it is…

Solving algebraic word problems involves multiple cognitive phases. The authors used a multitask approach to examine the extent to which working memory and executive functioning are associated with generating problem models and producing solutions. They tested 255 11-year-olds on working memory (Counting Recall, Letter Memory, and Keep Track),…

It is a persistent challenge to meet the academic needs of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) particularly in the area of math word problems. This study used a multiple-baseline across participants design for three elementary-aged students identified as emotional/behavioral disordered. The intervention consisted of an…

When the word problems of forty-five sixth-grade students were examined, multiple levels of understanding and misunderstanding multiplication were exposed. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the potential of problem writing as a technique for assessing the depths of students' mathematical understandings. Discussions include sample…

Although word problems pose greater language demands, they also encourage more meaningful problem solving and mathematics understanding. With proper instructional support, a student-centered, investigative approach to contextualized problem solving benefits all students. This article presents a lesson built on an author-adapted version of the…

Now in a second edition, the award-winning "The Trouble with Maths" offers important insights into the often confusing world of numeracy. By looking at learning difficulties in maths from several perspectives, including the language of mathematics, thinking styles and the demands of individual topics, this book offers a complete overview of the…

Children with HFA/AS are outperformed by their neuro-typical peers on mathematical problem solving skills even though they have average-to-above-average intelligence (Dickerson Mayes & Calhoun, 2003b); have average-to-above-average computation skills (Chiang & Lin, 2007); and, are educated in the general education setting (Twenty Eighth…

The purposes of this study were to assess the efficacy of remedial tutoring for 3rd graders with mathematics difficulty, to investigate whether tutoring is differentially efficacious depending on students' math difficulty status (mathematics difficulty alone vs. mathematics plus reading difficulty), to explore transfer from number combination (NC)…

Commonality analysis is a method of partitioning variance to determine the predictive ability unique to each predictor (or predictor set) and common to two or more of the predictors (or predictor sets). The purposes of the present paper are to (a) explain commonality analysis in a multiple regression context as an alternative for middle grades…

Ireland has two official languages--Gaeilge (Irish) and English. Similarly, primary- and second-level education can be mediated through the medium of Gaeilge or through the medium of English. This research is primarily focused on students (Gaeilgeoiri) in the transition from Gaeilge-medium mathematics education to English-medium mathematics…

The authors examined the effectiveness of strategy instruction taught by general educators in mixed-ability classrooms. Specifically, the authors compared the mathematical word problem-solving performance and computational skills of students who received schema-based instruction (SBI) with students who received general strategy instruction (GSI).…

This mixed-methods study incorporated elements of survey, case study and action research approaches in investigating an at-risk child. Using an in-take interview, a diagnostic test, an error analysis, and a think-aloud clinical interview, the study identified the child's major presenting difficulties. These included: inability to use the four…