Two types of word-problem rewording: contextual (situational) and conceptual¶

Design · All designs
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q3 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article distinguishes two rewording approaches. In contextual rewording, "the context —or non -mathematical content —of a problem is altered", for example replacing unfamiliar story content with personally familiar content while maintaining problem structure. In conceptual rewording, "textual modifications make semantic relations among key problem elements (e.g., given and unknown sets) more explicit and transparent by, for example, adding or rearranging text". The study built three reworded tests (T1, T2, T3) from these types plus their combination and tested their effects on seventh-grade error rates.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

Rewording must maintain the problem's mathematical structure while altering context or making semantic relations explicit

Constraints¶

Contextual rewording is also known as situational rewording; both types were tested without accompanying instruction in problem solving

Target Learners¶

seventh-grade mathematics students

Learning Goals¶

solving two-step arithmetic word problems

Claims¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

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://matheducator

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`design`
`id`	`contextual-conceptual-rewording-types`
`title`	`Two types of word-problem rewording: contextual (situational) and conceptual`
`description`	`The article distinguishes two rewording approaches.`
`status`	`review`
`generated`	by `process:settle-candidates` on `2026-11-02`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `majid-haghverdi-and-lynda-r-wiest-2016`

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