ROLES OF SYMBOLIC KNOWLEDGE AND PROBLEM INFORMATION CONTEXT IN SOLVING WORD-PROBLEMS

In 4 experiments, the effects of symbolic knowledge (i.e., knowledge a bout the meaning of mathematical notation) and problem-information con text (PIC) on translating relational statements (e.g., ''There are 6 t imes as many students as professors'') into math equations were examin ed. College students were more likely to construct correct equations w hen symbolic knowledge was presented than they were when they only rec eived a single relational statement. Ss who received a PIC that more c losely resembled a complete word problem did better on the equation-wr iting task than did those who only received a relational statement. Re sults indicated that the effects of the two factors are not separate. When Ss had the appropriate PIC, performance on the equation-writing t ask was enhanced because Ss' own memory representations for symbolic k nowledge were more accessible. Contextual constraints in the access an d use of knowledge in problem solving are discussed.