Mathematical word problems pose a significant challenge for many students, particularly in the early school years. These tasks are intended to help students connect mathematics to real-life situations and deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts. Certain groups, such as second-language learners and students with language, reading, or mathematics difficulties, are especially vulnerable to these challenges. However, such problems are common among many students, regardless of background.
Common obstacles in problem solving
Students face multiple obstacles when solving word problems, including difficulty identifying relevant information, misunderstandings of mathematical language, overreliance on keyword strategies, problems visualising the tasks, difficulty recognising problem types, and cognitive overload. In multilingual classrooms, these challenges are further compounded by language barriers.
Two effective methods for teaching word problems in mathematics are attack strategies, which involve systematic steps to solve such tasks, and schema-based instruction, which helps students recognise problem types by emphasising the underlying mathematical structure.
Innovative contribution to educational research
This project aims to investigate the effects of two different interventions for Year 2 students: one focusing on understanding the underlying mathematical structure, and one focusing on reading comprehension related to word problems. The project will design, implement, and evaluate partly script-based classroom interventions in whole-class settings with a high proportion of second-language learners. By comparing these two methods, we aim to provide valuable insights into effective teaching strategies that can enhance mathematical literacy for all students, regardless of language background. This project is innovative in both the Swedish and international context, as it emphasises word problems as a critical area of content in primary education and compares conceptually driven mathematics instruction with approaches that integrate reading comprehension strategies for solving word problems.
