The role of situation model dimensions in math word problems

Abstract

Math word problems can be quite challenging to students. In recent years, the math word problem literature has emphasized the importance of situation models (SM). SMs are a way of building a mental representation (using the text and previous knowledge) organized around five dimensions: protagonist, causal, motivational, temporal, and spatial. Wording of math word problems was manipulated to reflect two of these dimensions - spatial and motivational. Spatial (associated and dissociated) and motivational (motivational and neutral) questions were given to grades 3 and 5 students. Gender and grade were found to interact with performance in the spatial dimension, while only gender interacted with performance in the motivational dimension.