Word problems or problems with words

1961 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 234-238
Author(s):  
Jerome Manheim

This writer states, “With the current emphasis on logical analysis and the study of structure the role of the ‘word problem’ should be re-evaluated.”

ZDM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gemma Carotenuto ◽  
Pietro Di Martino ◽  
Marta Lemmi

AbstractResearch on mathematical problem solving has a long tradition: retracing its fascinating story sheds light on its intricacies and, therefore, on its needs. When we analyze this impressive literature, a critical issue emerges clearly, namely, the presence of words and expressions having many and sometimes opposite meanings. Significant examples are the terms ‘realistic’ and ‘modeling’ associated with word problems in school. Understanding how these terms are used is important in research, because this issue relates to the design of several studies and to the interpretation of a large number of phenomena, such as the well-known phenomenon of students’ suspension of sense making when they solve mathematical problems. In order to deepen our understanding of this phenomenon, we describe a large empirical and qualitative study focused on the effects of variations in the presentation (text, picture, format) of word problems on students’ approaches to these problems. The results of our study show that the phenomenon of suspension of sense making is more precisely a phenomenon of activation of alternative kinds of sense making: the different kinds of active sense making appear to be strongly affected by the presentation of the word problem.


Author(s):  
Yasemin Copur-Gencturk ◽  
Tenzin Doleck

AbstractPrior work on teachers’ mathematical knowledge has contributed to our understanding of the important role of teachers’ knowledge in teaching and learning. However, one aspect of teachers’ mathematical knowledge has received little attention: strategic competence for word problems. Adapting from one of the most comprehensive characterizations of mathematics learning (NRC, 2001), we argue that teachers’ mathematical knowledge also includes strategic competence, which consists of devising a valid solution strategy, mathematizing the problem (i.e., choosing particular strategies and presentations to translate the word problem into mathematical expressions), and arriving at a correct answer (executing a solution) for a word problem. By examining the responses of 350 fourth- and fifth-grade teachers in the USA to four multistep fraction word problems, we were able to explore manifestations of teachers’ strategic competence for word problems. Findings indicate that teachers’ strategic competence was closely related to whether they devised a valid strategy. Further, how teachers dealt with known and unknown quantities in their mathematization of word problems was an important indicator of their strategic competence. Teachers with strong strategic competence used algebraic notations or pictorial representations and dealt with unknown quantities more frequently in their solution methods than did teachers with weak strategic competence. The results of this study provide evidence for the critical nature of strategic competence as another dimension needed to understand and describe teachers’ mathematical knowledge.


1968 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 296-297
Author(s):  
J. C. Shepherdson

1991 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 569-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Devlin

In [6], we considered the equationwhere z ∈ ℂ and the pi are real-valued functions; abstract word-problem concepts and techniques were applied to the local problem of the bifurcation of periodic solutions out of the solution Z ≡ 0. This paper is a sequel to [6]; we present an extension of certain concepts given in that paper, and give a global version of some of our word-problem results.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105345122110475
Author(s):  
Bradley Witzel ◽  
Jonté A. Myers ◽  
Yan Ping Xin

State exams frequently use word problems to measure mathematics performance making difficulties with word problem solving a barrier for many students with learning disabilities (LD) in mathematics. Based on meta-analytic data from students with LD, five empirically validated word-problem strategies are presented with components of model-based problem solving (MBPS) highlighted.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Reinhold ◽  
Sarah Hofer ◽  
Michal Berkowitz ◽  
Anselm Strohmaier ◽  
Sarah Scheuerer ◽  
...  

1996 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arie W. Kruglanski

AbstractThe novel correspondence metaphor outlined by Koriat & Goldsmith offers important advantages for studying critical issues of memory-accuracy. It also fits well with the current emphasis on the reconstructive nature of memory and on the role of cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational factors in memory performance. These positive features notwithstanding, the storehouse/correspondence framework faces potential perils having to do with its implied linkage to the laboratory/real-life controversy and its proposal of studying correspondence issues in isolation from memory phenomena captured by the storehouse paradigm.


ZDM ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Csaba Csíkos ◽  
Judit Szitányi

AbstractThis research addressed Hungarian pre-service and in-service (both elementary and lower secondary) teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge concerning the teaching of word problem solving strategies. By means of a standardized interview protocol, participants (N = 30) were asked about their judgement on the difficulty of teaching word problems, the factors they find difficult, and their current teaching practice. Furthermore, based on a comparative analysis of Eastern European textbooks, we tested how teachers’ current beliefs and views relate to the word problem solving algorithm described in elementary textbooks. The results suggest that in the teachers’ opinion, explicit teaching of a step-by-step algorithm is feasible and desirable as early as in the 1st school grade. According to our results, two approaches (namely, paradigmatic- and narrative-oriented) concerning how to teach the process of word problems solving, originally revealed by Chapman, were found. Furthermore, teachers in general agreed with the approach taken in the textbooks on the subject of what kinds of word problems should be used, and that explicit teaching of word problem solving strategies should be introduced by using simple, routine word problems as examples.


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