MATHEMATICAL WORD-PROBLEM-SOLVING INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS WITH MILD DISABILITIES AND STUDENTS AT RISK FOR MATH FAILURE - A RESEARCH SYNTHESIS

This article reviews published research on mathematical word-problem-s olving instruction involving students with mild disabilities and stude nts at risk for math failure. The purpose of the review was to summari ze 14 word-problem-solving intervention studies with regards to partic ipants, procedures, and findings and provide implications for future r esearch and classroom practice in teaching word-problem solving. Inter ventions gleaned from the review entailed representational techniques (e.g., diagramming), strategy-training procedures (e.g., cognitive and metacognitive), task variations (sequencing and word-problem context) , and computer-assisted instruction. With the exception of one study, all studies reported positive effects of interventions on students' ma thematical word-problem solving.