Strategy adaptability as an index of cognitive flexibility in mathematics problem solving¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q1 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The paper frames cognitive flexibility in mathematics as the ability to select strategies that are appropriate and efficient for a given problem. Within MATHia, where students choose between strategies previously taught independently, some problems favor one strategy over the other, so students' strategy choices reveal whether they attend to problem characteristics that suggest one strategy. This framing motivates both the large-scale log analysis and the BERT-based modeling of strategy success.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Instructional content in which multiple strategies have been taught and problems vary in which strategy they favor

Constraints¶

• The account is developed specifically for math strategy choice within MATHia instructional content

Target Learners¶

• K-12 math students using the MATHia tutoring system

Target Learning Objectives¶

• Selecting math strategies that are appropriate and efficient for a problem

Claims¶

• Mathia Students Hard To Adapt Strategies [+M]
• Bert Predicts Successful Unsuccessful Strategies [+W]

Related Theories¶

Examples¶

• BERT strategy-embedding model and successful-strategy prediction task for MATHia logs
• MATHia strategy-choice problems where students select between independently taught strategies
• Repertoire of Strategies

Key Sources¶

• Magar, A.T., Fancsali, S.E., Rus, V., Murphy, A., Ritter, S., Venugopal, D. (2025). Analyzing Strategies in MATHia with BERT. In: Artificial Intelligence in Education. AIED 2025. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-98465-5_15