Rewording word problems (contextual, conceptual, or combined) significantly reduces seventh-grade students' problem-solving errors compared with a control group¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (3 entries) · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2016 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Each of the three rewording types produced significantly less problem-solving error than the control group (p <0.001). → Majid Haghverdi and Lynda R. Wiest 2016 q3 i? The omnibus one-way ANOVA on posttest scores showed significant differences across the four test conditions (F = 27.453, Sig. <.001). → Majid Haghverdi and Lynda R. Wiest 2016 (2) q3 i? Pretest scores of the four groups showed no significant differences, supporting group homogeneity. → Majid Haghverdi and Lynda R. Wiest 2016 (3)

Evidence¶

Majid Haghverdi and Lynda R. Wiest 2016¶

Majid Haghverdi and Lynda R. Wiest. (2016). The Effect of Contextual and Conceptual Rewording on Mathematical Problem-Solving Performance. The Mathematics Educator, 25(1), 56–73. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1110640

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Pretest-posttest experiment with 80 seventh-grade Iranian boys randomly assigned in groups of 20 to control and three rewording conditions. Post-hoc Tukey's HSD on posttest error scores showed each rewording group differed significantly from control (p <0.001); posttest means were 2.25, 2.75, and 2.15 versus 4.95 for control.

"This test showed that the mean difference in scores between the control group and each of the three experi mental groups (contextual, conceptual, and their combination) differed significantly ( p <0.001), indicating that all three types of reworded problems resulted in significantly less problem -solving error compared with the control group."

Majid Haghverdi and Lynda R. Wiest 2016 (2)¶

Majid Haghverdi and Lynda R. Wiest. (2016). The Effect of Contextual and Conceptual Rewording on Mathematical Problem-Solving Performance. The Mathematics Educator, 25(1), 56–73. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1110640

q3 · i? · causal · r2

One-way ANOVA on posttest scores across the four test conditions (Table 2) reported Between Groups SS 102.950, df 3, MS 34.317, F = 27.453, Sig. <.001, supporting that the four conditions differed overall in error scores.

"An analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows that the pretest -to-posttest scores across problems were significantly different (see Table 2)."

Majid Haghverdi and Lynda R. Wiest 2016 (3)¶

Majid Haghverdi and Lynda R. Wiest. (2016). The Effect of Contextual and Conceptual Rewording on Mathematical Problem-Solving Performance. The Mathematics Educator, 25(1), 56–73. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1110640

q3 · i? · causal · r2

A one-way ANOVA on pretest scores of the four groups showed no significant differences; equivalence was not further tested. This supported the authors' aim of confirming homogeneity of the experimental groups before the rewording manipulation.

"(Note that a one -way ANOVA performed on the pretest scores of the four test groups showed no significant differences.)"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• No significant differences exist among contextual, conceptual, and combined contextual/conceptual rewording in reducing student errors — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Minor rewording of structurally identical change problems raises children's success from 36% to 55% — related
• Most errors sixth graders made on mixed-type word problems were non-computational, involving problem understanding and equation setup — related