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The role of pre-algebraic reasoning within a word-problem intervention for third-grade students with mathematics difficulty

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Abstract

Students in the elementary grades often experience difficulty setting up and solving word problems. Using an equation to represent the structure of the problem serves as an effective tool for solving word problems, but students may require specific pre-algebraic reasoning instruction about the equal sign as a relational symbol to set up and solve such equations successfully. We identified students with mathematics difficulty (n = 138) from a sample of 916 third-grade students. We randomly assigned students to a word-problem intervention with a pre-algebraic reasoning component, a word-problem intervention without pre-algebraic reasoning, or the business-as-usual. Students in the 2 active intervention conditions participated in 45 individual sessions and learned about 3 additive word-problem schemas. Students who received word-problem intervention with a pre-algebraic reasoning component demonstrated improved nonstandard equation solving, equal sign understanding, and word-problem solving compared to students in the other two conditions.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by Grant R324A150078 from the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education to the University of Texas at Austin. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. Department of Education.

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  1. The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA

    Sarah R. Powell & Katherine A. Berry

  2. Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA

    Marcia A. Barnes

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  1. Sarah R. Powell
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Powell, S.R., Berry, K.A. & Barnes, M.A. The role of pre-algebraic reasoning within a word-problem intervention for third-grade students with mathematics difficulty. ZDM Mathematics Education 52, 151–163 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-019-01093-1

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