Processing of Situational Information in Story Problem Texts. An Analysis from On-Line Measures

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josetxu Orrantia ◽  
David Muñez ◽  
Santiago Vicente ◽  
Lieven Verschaffel ◽  
Javier Rosales
Keyword(s):  
Word Problems ◽  
Situation Model ◽  
Story Problems ◽  
Word Problem Solving ◽  
Information Availability ◽  
Story Problem ◽  
Schema Activation ◽  
On Line ◽  
Situational Information

AbstractIn three experiments, we investigated the extent to which readers process information related to the construction of a situation model when they are confronted with solving word problems. Considering that generation of inferences to match actions with particular goals is part of constructing of the situation model, we constructed “rich story problems”, that is, word problems included in the context of a story, in which the characters propose goals, and then these goals are followed by actions to achieve it. In Experiments 1 and 2 the story problems were designed so that the character’s goal was related to the activation of a problem schema, either explicitly (Experiment 1) or implicitly (Experiment 2). In Experiment 3 the problem schema activation was clearly separated from the goal information. In all three experiments, goal information availability was assessed by on-line measures. The results showed that participants processed situational information by keeping track of characters’ goals. These results fit nicely with those studies that emphasize the role of situation model construction in word problem solving.

Learning to Solve Addition and Subtraction Word Problems through a Structure-plus-Writing Approach

1995 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 467-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Al Rudnitsky ◽  
Susan Etheredge ◽  
Sue J. M. Freeman ◽  
Therese Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Word Problem ◽  
Field Test ◽  
Word Problems ◽  
Story Problems ◽  
Word Problem Solving ◽  
Test Instruction ◽  
Addition And Subtraction

The aim of this study was to design and field-test instruction intended to help students construct knowledge about addition and subtraction story problems and determine if this knowledge would transfer to actually solving problems. The study tests two related hypotheses: (a) structure-plus-writing instruction will result in improved word-problem solving, and (b) this improvement will be more enduring than that resulting from a more traditional heuristic and practice-based approach.

scholarly journals What Diagrams Are Considered Useful for Solving Mathematical Word Problems in Japan?

2021 ◽  
pp. 79-83
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Ayabe ◽  
Emmanuel Manalo ◽  
Mari Fukuda ◽  
Norihiro Sadato
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Word Problems ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
School Level ◽  
Word Problem Solving ◽  
Textbook Series ◽  
Number Lines ◽  
Mathematical Word Problems

AbstractPrevious studies have shown that diagram use is effective in mathematical word problem solving. However, they have also revealed that students manifest many problems in using diagrams for such purposes. A possible reason is an inadequacy in students’ understanding of variations in types of problems and the corresponding kinds of diagrams appropriate to use. In the present study, a preliminary investigation was undertaken of how such correspondences between problem types and kinds of diagrams are represented in textbooks. One government-approved textbook series for elementary school level in Japan was examined for the types of mathematical word problems, and the kinds of diagrams presented with those problems. The analyses revealed significant differences in association between kinds of diagrams and types of problems. More concrete diagrams were included with problems involving change, combination, variation, and visualization of quantities; while number lines were more often used with comparison and variation problems. Tables and graphs corresponded to problems requiring organization of quantities; and more concrete diagrams and graphs to problems involving quantity visualization. These findings are considered in relation to the crucial role of textbooks and other teaching materials in facilitating strategy knowledge acquisition in students.

scholarly journals The Role of Prosodic Breaks and Pitch Accents in Grouping Words during On-line Sentence Processing

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 2447-2467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Bögels ◽  
Herbert Schriefers ◽  
Wietske Vonk ◽  
Dorothee J. Chwilla
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Pitch Accent ◽  
Semantic Interpretation ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
On Line ◽  
Group Words ◽  
Pitch Accents

The present study addresses the question whether accentuation and prosodic phrasing can have a similar function, namely, to group words in a sentence together. Participants listened to locally ambiguous sentences containing object- and subject-control verbs while ERPs were measured. In Experiment 1, these sentences contained a prosodic break, which can create a certain syntactic grouping of words, or no prosodic break. At the disambiguation, an N400 effect occurred when the disambiguation was in conflict with the syntactic grouping created by the break. We found a similar N400 effect without the break, indicating that the break did not strengthen an already existing preference. This pattern held for both object- and subject-control items. In Experiment 2, the same sentences contained a break and a pitch accent on the noun following the break. We argue that the pitch accent indicates a broad focus covering two words [see Gussenhoven, C. On the limits of focus projection in English. In P. Bosch & R. van der Sandt (Eds.), Focus: Linguistic, cognitive, and computational perspectives. Cambridge: University Press, 1999], thus grouping these words together. For object-control items, this was semantically possible, which led to a “good-enough” interpretation of the sentence. Therefore, both sentences were interpreted equally well and the N400 effect found in Experiment 1 was absent. In contrast, for subject-control items, a corresponding grouping of the words was impossible, both semantically and syntactically, leading to processing difficulty in the form of an N400 effect and a late positivity. In conclusion, accentuation can group words together on the level of information structure, leading to either a semantically “good-enough” interpretation or a processing problem when such a semantic interpretation is not possible.

scholarly journals The Animation of Gamers and the Gamers as Animators in Sierra On-Line’s Adventure Games

Animation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 83-95
Author(s):  
Raz Greenberg
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
Free Play ◽  
Digital Gaming ◽  
Adventure Game ◽  
Adventure Games ◽  
Software Publisher ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Relationship

Produced throughout the 1980s using the company’s Adventure Game Interpreter engine, the digital adventure games created by American software publisher Sierra On-Line played an important and largely overlooked role in the development of animation as an integral part of the digital gaming experience. While the little historical and theoretical discussion of the company’s games of the era focuses on their genre, it ignores these games’ contribution to the relationship between the animated avatars and the gamers that control them – a relationship that, as argued in this article, in essence turns gamers into animators. If we consider Chris Pallant’s (2019) argument in ‘Video games and animation’ that animation is essential to the sense of immersion within a digital game, then the great freedom provided to the gamers in animating their avatars within Sierra On-Line’s adventure games paved the way to the same sense of immersion in digital. And, if we refer to Gonzalo Frasca’s (1999) divide of digital games to narrative-led or free-play (ludus versus paidea) in ‘Ludology meets narratology: Similitude and differences between (video) games and narrative’, then the company’s adventure games served as an important early example of balance between the two elements through the gamers’ ability to animate their avatars. Furthermore, Sierra On-Line’s adventure games have tapped into the traditional tension between the animator and the character it animated, as observed by Scott Bukatman in ‘The poetics of Slumberland: Animated spirits and the animated spirit (2012), when he challenged the traditional divide between animators, the characters they animate and the audience. All these contributions, as this articles aims to demonstrate, continue to influence the role of animation in digital games to this very day.

Intensive Word Problem Solving for Students With Learning Disabilities in Mathematics

2021 ◽  
pp. 105345122110475
Author(s):  
Bradley Witzel ◽  
Jonté A. Myers ◽  
Yan Ping Xin
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Word Problem ◽  
Word Problems ◽  
Mathematics Performance ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Word Problem Solving ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Students With Ld

State exams frequently use word problems to measure mathematics performance making difficulties with word problem solving a barrier for many students with learning disabilities (LD) in mathematics. Based on meta-analytic data from students with LD, five empirically validated word-problem strategies are presented with components of model-based problem solving (MBPS) highlighted.

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