Effects of Mathematical Word Problem–Solving Instruction on Middle School Students with Learning Problems

Mathematics is integral to all areas of daily life; it affects successful functioning on the job, in school, at home, and in the community. The importance of mathematics literacy and problem solving is emphasized in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act of 1994 and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 2000; Goldman, Hasselbring, & the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1997). Increasing evidence suggests that high levels of mathematical and technical skills are needed for most jobs in the 21st century. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all students, not just those planning to pursue higher education, have sufficient skills to meet the challenges of the 21st century (National Education Goals Panel, 1997). In addition, one of the provisions of the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is that students with disabilities have meaningful access to the general education curriculum. In fact, these students are held accountable to the same high academic standards required of all students (No Child Left Behind Act, 2002). As part of the mathematics reform and standards-based reform movements, the NCTM (2000) developed the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. The focus of the NCTM standards is on “conceptual understanding rather than procedural knowledge or rule-driven computation” (Maccini & Gagnon, 2002, p. 326). This emphasis has significant implications for classroom practice because special education typically has focused on arithmetic computation rather than higher-order skills such as reasoning and problem solving (Cawley, Parmar, Yan, & Miller, 1998). Students with learning disabilities often manifest serious deficits in mathematics, Effects of Mathematical Word Problem–Solving Instruction on Middle School Students with Learning Problems