Approach to Word Problem Solving in Students with Specific Learning Disorders: A Review Study

Background and Objective: Today, different teaching approaches have been offered to solve word problems. Schema-based instruction is one of these new approaches. This study aimed to identify and determine the nature, stages, research evidence, and effectiveness of schema-based instruction on resolving students’ word problems. Materials and Methods: This is a review study. Studies and resources related to the study titles were found searching such keywords as “Schema”, “Schema-Based Instruction”, “Word Problems”, “Story Problems”, and “Problem Solving” in internal and external databases, such as Pubmed, Springer, Scopus, ProQuest, Elsevier, Science Direct,  Google Scholar,  Magiran,  SID in the article abstracts from 2009 to 2019. Results: Based on the findings, the schema-based instruction on word problem-solving consists of four stages including problem structure identification, visual representation, problem-solving, and metacognitive strategies that can enhance the problem-solving performance of students with math learning disorders through the promotion of their conceptual and procedural knowledge. Conclusion: The schema-based instruction has been designed to eliminate the existing shortcomings in the methods of teaching to students with a specific learning disorder in the subject of mathematics and can be helpful to teachers, parents, and professionals working in the field of special learning disorders.