Second Grade Elementary School Students? Differing Performance on Combine, Change and Compare Word Problems

The consistency effect in word problem solving is effectively reduced through verbal instruction

“…Despite the presumed benefits of mathematical word problems such as their connection to realistic (linguistic) contexts, close relation to children's perceptions, and relevance to society (Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, 2003), children frequently experience difficulties in solving word problems (e.g., Boonen et al, 2016;Cummins, Kintsch, Reusser, & Weimer, 1988;van der Schoot, Bakker-Arkema, Horsley, & Van Lieshout, 2009). It has been shown that this is particularly the case for compare problems (Boonen & Jolles, 2015;Cummins et al, 1988). In compare problems (see Examples in Table 1), the value of one variable must be computed by comparing the information given about relative value magnitudes of two variables; one variable serves as the referent set whereas another variable serves as the comparison set (Boonen & Jolles, 2015).…”

“…It has been shown that this is particularly the case for compare problems (Boonen & Jolles, 2015;Cummins et al, 1988). In compare problems (see Examples in Table 1), the value of one variable must be computed by comparing the information given about relative value magnitudes of two variables; one variable serves as the referent set whereas another variable serves as the comparison set (Boonen & Jolles, 2015).…”

“…A robust finding in this regard is the consistency effect (Lewis & Mayer, 1987): word problem solvers typically make more errors and take longer on inconsistent than on consistent compare word problems (Boonen et al, 2016;Hegarty et al, 1995;Lewis & Mayer, 1987;Pape, 2003;van der Schoot et al, 2009;Verschaffel, De Corte, & Pauwels, 1992). Throughout the years, this consistency effect has been observed across different populations, such as higher education students (e.g., Hegarty et al, 1995;Lewis, 1989;Lewis & Mayer, 1987), higher elementary school children (e.g., van der Schoot et al, 2009), lower elementary school children (e.g., Boonen & Jolles, 2015;Mwangi & Sweller, 1998;Schumacher & Fuchs, 2012;Willis & Fuson, 1988), and for children with varying levels of mathematical ability (e.g., Boonen et al, 2016).…”

Can “you” make a difference? Investigating whether perspective‐taking improves performance on inconsistent mathematical word problems

“…Word problem solving performance was measured on 24 one‐step compare word problems previously used by De Koning et al (). In compare word problems, one needs to compare the given information about the relative values of two variables to calculate the value of one of these variable; one variable serves as the referent set whereas another variable serves as the comparison set (Boonen & Jolles, ). One‐step compare word problems were used as they are typically experienced as difficult and are often solved incorrectly by primary school children (cf.…”

Vzgoja in izobraževanjemed preteklostjo in prihodnostjo / Upbringing and Education between the Past and the Future

“…Riley, Greeno, and Heller (1983) identified three types of simple word problems that are frequently offered in primary education: combine, change, and compare problems (see table 1). In the current contribution we will focus on compare problems, which have been demonstrated to be significantly more difficult than other problem types, although they all share a similar corresponding maths (Boonen and Jolles 2015;Schumacher and Fuchs 2012;Stern 1993).…”