{"pk":31726,"title":"Making Mathematical Connections Through Natural Language: A Computer Model of Text Comprehension in Arithmetic Word Problem Understanding","subtitle":null,"abstract":"Understiinding arithmetic word problems involves a\ncomplex interaction of text comprehension jmd\nmathematicjd processes. This work presents a com-\nputer model of the hypothesized processes that are\nrequired of a young student solving arithmetic word\nproblems, including the processes of sentence-level\nreading and text integration. Unlike previous com-\nputer simuLitions of word problem solving, which\nneglect the early stages of text processing, this model\nforces a detailed consideration of the linguistic pro-\ncess, which is being increasingly recognized as a pri-\nmary source of difficulty. Experiments were con-\nducted to isolate critical text comprehension processes.\nChildren's probability of solution was jinalyzed in\nregression jinalyses as a function of the model's text\ncomprehension processes. A variable measuring the\ncombined effects of the load on working m e m o r y and\ntext integration inferences accounted for a significant\nrunount of variance across four grade levels (K-3).\nThe results suggest n e w process-oriented measures of\ndetermining w h y a particular word problem m a y be\ndifficult, especially for young students. A n implica-\ntion for education is the potential for a difficulty-\ndifferentiated network of problems that includes a\nmultiple number of rewordings for each \"traditionjU\"\nproblem wording as an iiid for classroom assessment\nand future computer-based learning environments.","language":"eng","license":{"name":"","short_name":"","text":null,"url":""},"keywords":[],"section":"Submitted Presentations","is_remote":true,"remote_url":"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3j78j8bs","frozenauthors":[{"first_name":"Mark","middle_name":"D.","last_name":"LeBlanc","name_suffix":"","institution":"University of New Hampshire","department":""},{"first_name":"Sylvia","middle_name":"","last_name":"Weber-Russell","name_suffix":"","institution":"University of New Hampshire","department":""}],"date_submitted":null,"date_accepted":null,"date_published":"1993-01-01T18:00:00Z","render_galley":null,"galleys":[{"label":"PDF","type":"pdf","path":"https://journalpub.escholarship.org/cognitivesciencesociety/article/31726/galley/22794/download/"}]}